Kept Promises
by Merlee Wishine
Summary: Dangerously Sweet sequel! Amu and Ikuto are back in Japan. Things changed while they were gone, too. Tadase started going out with Yaya, and he got... meaner. He glares at Ikuto when he sees him and he seems to be planning something. What's going on?
1. Chapter 1

Merlee: FINALLY I get this posted -wipes away a sweat bead-

Ikuto: WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG, BITCH?!

Merlee: o.o; My account got all fucked up so I couldn't post crap x'D

Ikuto: ... yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah. Right.

Merlee: And to people reading _Missing, The Chosen One, _and _Rosamaria_! I know, I haven't updated those in ages .-. But I am working on them! I just have a bit of writer's block on _Rosamaria_, so it's slowing down my progress in other stories. Please forgive me!!!

Ikuto: I swear, I hate your slacker-ness.

Merlee: -.-; don't we all?

Amu: Yep.

Merlee: ALSO! If you're reading this without reading _Dangerously Sweet_ first, then read it! This story will only make sense if you read _Dangerously Sweet_ first.

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or any of the characters! She-

Merlee: ALRIGHT! On with the story!

* * *

Amu's POV

Ikuto insisted on walking me to school when we got back to Japan. I didn't have a problem with it, so I let him. The whole way there, he held my bandaged hand. He wouldn't hold the other one. I guessed that maybe he felt responsible for it.

"You're sure you'll be okay at the Guardians meeting?" He asked.

I sighed. I didn't want to go to the Guardians meeting. We were having one this morning before school. I didn't want Yaya asking me where I was, and I really didn't want Tadase asking why Ikuto had walked me to school, and why exactly we were holding hands. In fact, I didn't want to see Tadase _at all_. Why I ever thought I liked him in the first place was a mystery to me now.

"I'll be fine," I said as we walked up to the royal garden, "It's not like it's my first day going or anything."

Ikuto sighed and I opened the big glass door to the royal garden. Almost immediately, Yaya popped out in front of me, Tadase right behind her.

"Amu-chi! What's the deal with all the gauze?" She asked, jumping up and down.

"Hinamori-san, why are you with the likes of _Tsukiyomi Ikuto?_" Tadase glared at Ikuto. I then realized that Yaya and Tadase were holding hands. _I wonder what happened with these two?_ I thought.

"Well, I could be asking you two why you're holding hands," I said purposely avoiding Tadase's question. The two of them blushed.

"Well, Tadase-koi and I are together!" Yaya yelled, jumping up and down enthusiastically. I rolled my eyes. She liked him the entire time?

"Yaya-koi! Don't yell it!" Tadase shouted in response, his face completely red. I he shot me a glance, that looked like a kind of glare. _What's _his _problem?_ I thought. "You didn't answer my question! Why are you with _Tsukiyomi Ikuto_, Hinamori-san?" Tadase said, his voice sharp.

I opened my mouth to answer, but Ikuto answered for me. "_Amu_ is my girlfriend," he said, moving his hand from mine to around my waist. He kissed me on the lips lightly. Tadase glared at us, but then he quickly changed that to a smile.

"I'm happy that Hinamori-san has found someone that loves her," he said, as if I weren't even there.

"It wasn't that hard for her," Ikuto said. I felt myself blush cherry red.

"Aaaaamuuuuuu-chiiiiiiiiiii!" Yaya whined, "Whyyyyy dooo you haave all the gaaaaauuuuze?"

I bit my lip and Ikuto nudged me in the side. We had something figured out. "It was an accident," I said. It was practically true. "I slipped and fell on some broken glass. Nothing big."

Yaya started to pout. "Where were you, anyway, Amu-chi?"

I opened my mouth to speak again, when Ikuto jumped in. Again. "She was with _me_." I sighed. Wasn't that much obvious? Tadase glared at Ikuto and I could have punched him for it.

"Well, I need to be going," Ikuto said, letting me go, "I'll see you after school, Amu-_koi_." He lightly kissed me again, Tadase glaring at us. Ikuto was enjoying all of it, I could tell.

"See you," I said and I walked into the royal garden. Nagihiko and Rima were in there, so it wasn't all that bad.

Ikuto's POV

I _really_ didn't like the way Tadase was looking at Amu.

I wasn't fond of the glaring, either, but I could handle that. The look I saw in his eyes was something I hadn't seen before. A kind of _want _or something. What did it mean? Did he still love Amu even if he were dating Yaya? Was it love or… _lust_? The thought of it sent shivers down my spine.

I shook my troubling thoughts away. Whatever it was he wanted, Amu wouldn't fall for it. She told me that she didn't like Tadase anymore, and her act back there kind of proved it. But what was it that he wanted, exactly? If he wanted Amu, he couldn't have her. Not only was Amu with me, But I wasn't about to let _Tadase_ have her. I didn't trust him. (A/N: I know, I know, in the actual like anime/mange or whatever Ikuto and Tadase forgive each other and crap, but this way it's more interesting! xD)

I sighed. The best thing to do was to not think about it. It probably wasn't anything.

But for Amu's sake…

I turned back around and headed back to Seiyo Elementary. I chara changed with Yoru and I climbed onto the roof of the royal garden.

I watched everyone carefully, especially Tadase.

Amu's POV: Later: After School

I ran out of Seiyo Elementary as fast as I could, knowing that Ikuto would be waiting for me. I saw him leaning against a tree in that Ikuto-like way, his violin at his side. I ran up to him and I wrapped my arms around him the way I did at the hotel.

"_Ikuto!_" I yelled as I grabbed him. He wrapped his arms around me, too.

"Can you _not_ live without me or something?" he said, sarcasm filling his voice, "That's kind of pathetic, you know."

I felt myself blush. "I-I can too live without you, you pervert!" I yelled. Ikuto smirked.

"Fine. I'll just be going, then," he said and started to walk away. I grabbed his wrist.

"_Don't you __**dare**__!" _I said. He turned back around and snickered.

"Do you admit that you can't live without me?"

I blushed even more. "_Okay! Fine! No, I can't live without you, Ikuto!_ There I said it. Happy now?" I said.

Just then, Yaya and Tadase walked by. Tadase glared at us. Ikuto wrapped his arm around me, as if he were protecting me. He glared back at Tadase. He watched him walk off, and then he started walking the opposite way, pulling me along. _Whaaaa? _I thought, _Am I missing something?_ I looked at Ikuto. Even though I once mistook him for an angel, he could be an angry soldier now. His eyes flamed in anger and a need to protect.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him. He closed his eyes and sighed.

"I didn't like the way he was looking at you, that's all."

"Huh? But, he glared at _you_, too."

He tightened his grip on me, pulling me closer. "No, he didn't glare at y- Never mind. Drop it. It's nothing," he said, and he stopped abruptly. He cupped my chin in his hand and looked me straight in the eye. He looked at me gently, covering up any anger we had, but still showing protectiveness. "I love you, you know."

Even though he'd said it to me thousands of times by now, he made me blush every time. "I-I love you, too."

He pulled my face closer to his and kissed me. A magnetic surge flowed through me, drawing me to Ikuto. I wrapped me arms around him and enjoyed every second of our kiss. Finally, he pulled away, his forehead on mine.

"Just… be careful from now on. Especially around Tadase. Okay?" He said, his face filled with worry.

"O-Okay," I said, "But why?"

"Because I said so." He put his hand on my cheek where the bandage was. He smiled sweetly in a very UnIkuto-like way. He then walked me to my house and started to walk off.

"Remember, Amu-koi, I'd do anything to protect you. And that's a promise," He said, and he left. I was left dumbfounded. What did he mean? What was going on?

Why did he suddenly start calling me Amu-_koi?

* * *

_

Tadase: o.o; the fuck..?

Merlee: Yes. You're the spawn of Satan xD!

Ikuto: -glares at Tadase and wraps arm around Amu- Yes. Yes he yes.

Amu: whaaa?

Merlee: Oh! Also! Announcement! I now have Cover Art for my stories :D The links are on my homepage. I don't have one for _Kept Promises _or _Missing_ yet, but they're coming!

Miki: R&R!!


	2. Chapter 2

Merlee: Hey, Ikuto! You know what I just realized?

Ikuto: I don't really care, but what?

Merlee: This entire chapter is pretty much your point of view o.O

Ikuto: That's nice.... let me sleep now.

Amu: NO! IKUTO YOU CAN'T SLEEP!!! I'LL BE LONELY!!

Merlee: -pulls out notebook and writes- Note to self: Never give Amu coffee again e.e;

Ikuto: Please don't

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters. She's merely an obsessed fan.

Merlee: Do you _always_ have to add that part?

Miki: Yes, because it's true.

Merlee: ...thanks...

* * *

Ikuto's POV.

I stood on Amu's balcony, as I usually did at night. I looked in through the glass and watched her as she slept. Her face was lightened up by the faint moonlight behind me. I longed to open the glass door and to go inside, like I had back at The West Baden. But I couldn't. Not only would somebody probably hear me go in, but her door was locked.

I looked at the bandage on her hand, a wound that I was responsible for. I'd caused Amu a lot of pain here recently, and I had a feeling that I'd bring her more. It was obvious that Tadase didn't want her with me. I sighed.

I was about to turn and walk away when Amu sat up. She looked outside of her window and right at me. Her eyes lit up as she climbed out of bed and up to her balcony door. She opened the sliding glass door and greeted me with a huge smile.

"_Ikuto!_" She yelled, wrapping her arms around me. This reaction was going to take some getting use to, but it would be worth the adjustment. "What are you doing here? I didn't expect to-"

"Amu-koi, I come here _all the time_. Remember?" I said. She gave a thoughtful look and blushed.

"What's the deal with the _koi_ thing now? What happened to just _Amu_?"

"Well, we're dating, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"Would you like me to call you _Hinamori-san?_"

She blinked and glared at me. "Like _Tadase_ does? No, thanks." She said. I wrapped my arm around her. Time for teasing.

"So anyway, Hinamori-san-"

"My name is _Amu!_"

" Hinamori-sama?"

"_Amu! My name is Amu!_"

"Uh, Joey?"

"Come on, Ikuto! Seriously!"

"Fine. Amu."

She blushed and pouted. "_That's _better," she said, "What did you come here for, anyway?"

I shrugged. "Because I could."

"Figures…"

"Actually, there's something I need to give you," I said, reaching into my pocket. I pulled out a box wrapped in red wrapping paper. She grabbed it and started to open it, but I stopped her by placing my hand on hers.

"Open it tomorrow," I said, "I was going to leave it here so you'd find it then, but you _had_ to wake up."

"Why tomorrow?" She asked, blushing even more.

I leaned in close to her. "You'll see," I said, and I kissed her. She seemed surprised for a moment, her lips moving awkwardly. I guessed that she too would need to adjust to our new reactions to things now. Reluctantly, she kissed me back.

"I love you, you stupid pervert," Amu said, breaking our kiss. Her face was a bright red from blushing so much.

I caressed her bandaged cheek. "I love you too, Amu," I said. I walked reluctantly to the edge of the balcony and said, "Tomorrow is Saturday, right? Expect me to come and see you." I jumped off the balcony in a way that only a cat could. I landed on my feet, and for some reason I felt like looking to my side. So I did.

Down the street, I saw a dark figure, like a person. Whoever it was, they were striding in the direction of Amu's house. _What…? Who…?_ I thought and I jumped into a nearby bush. The person strode to Amu's balcony, were I had just been. The person sat down on the ground, looking upward at the balcony.

I leaned in for a closer look. I saw a familiar shape, especially with the hair, a wispy part that looked like it's never be combed down. It didn't surprise me that Tadase was at Amu's, but my lack of shock didn't mean I had to like it. I leaned in closer to watch his every move. _I'm going to kill that kid,_ I thought.

Amu's POV: Next Day

I woke up, opening my eyes slowly. _Where am I?_ I thought, then I realized I was in my room. I'd been doing that since I got back, I guess I had gotten used to The West Baden or something. I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and yawned.

I looked over at my bedside table. On top of it was the box Ikuto had given me the night before. I picked it up. _He told me to open this today, so…_ I ripped open the wrapping paper to reveal a box, the kind that jewelry stores put necklaces and stuff in after you buy them. Taped onto the top was a folded piece of paper. I eagerly ripped it off and unfolded it. It was a note, written in Ikuto's elegant handwriting.

_My beloved Amu, _

_ Do you remember what happened a few years ago from today? I do. It was the day we met. I was lying down in that hole, taking a nap, and you were running from school after being rejected (in front of everybody) by Tadase. I knew from that day forward that I could easily love you. That was the only easy part about it. It was hard trying to show it to you. Even though I did, several times, you never believed me or returned it. Until recently. Amu, I want you to know that I love you with all my heart, and I would kill any bastard who would want to hurt you. (I already have, actually. Take a look at those bandages if you don't believe me on that one. Who do you think carried you to the hospital?) I wanted you to know that I love you more than anything in this world. To prove it to you, I bought this for you._

_ Love,_

_Ikuto_

I felt my heart leap. My eyes watered with tears of joy. _Ikuto…_ I thought. I opened up the box that the note was taped to, and I instantly gasped. Inside was the most beautiful necklace I'd ever seen. It was shaped something like those really thin leaves you see sometimes, the center line of it silver, and what would have been the body of the leaf were tear-shaped sapphires.

I reached behind my head to put it on, but someone else grabbed it. "I'll do that for you," a familiar voice said. I turned my head to see Ikuto.

"Ikuto! _How did you get in?!"_

He smirked his world-famous smirk. "I'm a cat, remember? Plus, you left your balcony door unlocked. Again."

"But _when?_"

` "A while ago," he said, putting the sapphire necklace around my neck, "Anyway, since it's Saturday, I'm taking you on a date."

"Now?" I asked. He nodded. "I just woke up, stupid! And it's impossible for me to get dressed with _you_ in here."

"_I_ wouldn't mind it so much."

I shot a glare at him. "You'll never stop being perverted, will you?"

He shook his head and put his arm around my waist. "To you? Never."

I pushed his arm away. "Let me go so I can get ready really quick, alright?" I said, and without waiting for an answer, I went into the bathroom to get ready.

_Meanwhile (Tadase's POV)_

Why?

Why did Amu- er, Hinamori-san pick Tsukiyomi Ikuto? Didn't she once say she loved me? And I told her everyday that I loved her. Of all people, it _had_ to be the cat thief. I knew it shouldn't matter now that I was going out with Yaya-koi, but I still didn't like seeing Amu with Tsukiyomi Ikuto. And I didn't believe the thing about the glass, either.

_Tsukiyomi Ikuto must have hurt her,_ I thought. I knew he'd beaten her. I could feel it in my gut. I'd get revenge. On both of them. And I'd make sure it was soon.

"_Tadase-koi!_" Yaya-koi yelled, "_Wake up, Tadase-koi!_"

I blinked once or twice. "What?"

"What on Earth are you _doing?_"

I looked down at the notebook in front of me. Yaya-koi and I were supposed to be studying together, but I had drawn in my notebook while I spaced out, but I wasn't shocked at what I saw. I had drawn a fluffy dog like my old dog Betty chewing on a sleek black cat.

"Oh, I was thinking about Betty and the time she almost killed our neighbor's cat," I lied, "Hey, Yaya-koi, I told my mom I'd be home by now. I'll see you later, okay?"

She nodded, but not without a pout on her face. "_Fine._ I love you, Tadase-koi."

I nodded. "I love you too."

I walked out of Yaya-koi's house. Ut instead of going home, I stopped at the park. I sat down at one of the benches and I wrote in my notebook

_Find a way to get Hinamori-sama away from Tsukiyomi Ikuto. Carry out previous ideas_.

I felt myself grin wildly as I wrote all of my ideas and plans down in my notebook. _This is going to be great!_ I thought.

Ikuto's POV

Amu and I walked down the sidewalk hand-in-hand. As usual, I held the hand wrapped in gauze. However, I was surprised by what she had worn. She normally wore red, but today everything she wore was blue. Dark blue. I guessed that maybe she wanted to match the new necklace I'd gotten her.

"Sooooo… Where are you taking me?" She asked. She'd been asking me that question since we left, and I answered the same every time.

"You'll see. Can't you be _patient?_"

"Nope. Why do you have your violin, anyway?"

I sighed and shock my head. I wrapped my arm around her and pulled her close. "Patience, Amu-koi. You'll find out."

"I'm just Amu, remember?"

"Alright. _Hinamori-san._"

She groaned. I smirked as I pulled her into the park.

"The _park?_" She said cynically, but then she took another look at my violin. "Are you going to play your violin?!" she asked, suddenly excited.

I nodded. _Way to spoil the surprise,_ I thought, but I still had something else for her.

I lead her to the spot where I normally played violin. "Sit," I told her, and she sat down. I sat my violin case down, opened it, and pulled out my violin and bow. I lifted my violin up onto my shoulder, placing my chin on the chin rest. I closed my eyes and started to play it, and sang.

_Kokoro madowasu NOIZU furikiri hashiri dashita_

_Toumei de tsumi no nai hikari mezashite_

_Karada wo nagareru omoi ga nani iro demo_

_Unmei no SHINARIO wa kimesasenai sa_

_Seowasareta mayakashi no juujika ni_

_Shibari tsukeru kubiwa wo hikichigitte motto jiyuu na sekai e_

_Kanashiki ai no MERODI yodomu machi ni tadayou_

_Iyasenu kizu wo daite daremo naiteiru_

_Yokubou me ga kuranda iyashii kyoudai na kage_

_Te mo ashi mo daseya shinai namida nagasenu MARIONETTO_

_Umareta hoshi no na no moto hikisakaretetta kizuna_

_Karappo no yurikago ga munashiku yureru_

_Mujaki datta tooki hi no maboroshi wa_

_Hi damari no you mijikai yume no naka de yasashiku ore wo naderu yo_

_Obieta kimi no hitomi kegare shiranu houseki_

_Setsunai netsu wo yadoshi mune ni tsukisasaru_

_Ittai nani no tame ni mune de tsuzukeru no darou_

_Yakusoku yori KIREI de tashikana mono wo sagashiteiru_

_Tell me, How do I play the Melody of Love?_

_Tell me, How do I play the Melody of Love?_

_Kanashiki ai no MERODI yodomu machi ni tadayou_

_Iyasenu kizu wo daite daremo naiteiru_

_Orokade mudana arasoi ni itsuka owari ga kuru nara_

_Uragiri no MARIONETTO wa kono mi sasageru inochi to tomoni_

_Tsuki no hikari ni michibikare… motto jiyuu na sekai e…_

(A/N: Tsukiyo no Marionetto. I don't own it. Link to the song can be found on my profile, along with the English translation.)

I opened my eyes and looked at Amu. Her eyes were glittering with tears, like they had been the first time she'd heard me play. She stood up and clapped, wiping tears away form her cheek.

"That was so beautiful!" She said, running up and hugging me tightly.

"Hey, hey, hey, watch out for the violin," I said, nearly dropping it from Amu's impact.

"Sorry," she said, inching away. I put my violin and bow back into the case and strapped the case back onto my back.

"_Now_ you can hug me," I said, and Amu leapt into my arms. I gladly held her, too.

"I love you, Ikuto," she said and she took in a deep breath. "And you smell like rain."

I smirked. "And _I'm_ the pervert," I said sarcastically.

"Yep," Amu said, "You are. Very."

I smirked and wrapped my arm around Amu's waist. "I'm only a pervert because I love you." Amu blushed. Some of her reaction may have changed, but that never would.

We walked through the park. There were kids playing on the swings, parents nearby. I thought about what that would be like. Amu and I… parents…

"What are you smirking about, pervert?" Amu said, shaking me from my thoughts.

"Nothing," I responded, "Just nothing."

She rolled her eyes, disbelieving it was nothing, but not even that could keep her from blushing.

"Amu," I said.

"_What?_"

"You're blushing again."

She only blushed more. "I am not!"

"Yeah, you are."

She pouted. "Er… it's a nice day, isn't it?" she said, changing the subject.

I couldn't help but laugh. "You _always_ change the subject," I said. All of a sudden, I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head to look and saw what wouldn't have surprised even an idiot. Hotori Tadase was sitting on the benches, writing something in his notebook. Luckily, he hadn't seen us yet.

"Hey, uh, Amu," I said, looking back into her cherry red face, "I'm getting a little hungry, want to go get something to eat?"

Amu nodded. "I'm getting a little hungry, too," she said. As we walked the other way to get out of the park, I looked back at Tadase. _What is he writing?_ I wondered.

* * *

Merlee: -cracks up laughing-

Ikuto: What did you do this time?

Merlee: -snickers like hell- Well, last night I came up with an awesome idea for like chapter three or four, so I started writing it and.....

Ikuto: and?

Merlee: ............... -shows to Ikuto-

Ikuto: oh god =_=; and I thought _I _was a pervert.

Merlee: I'm actually going to post this xDD I think it's going to be... four...?

Amu: Let me see! -looks-

Ikuto: Amu, you might not want to do that....

Amu: O_O! What the fuck is this?! _Merlee has a perverted mind!_

Merlee: -laughs like a crazed maniac... like Kira or something-

Miki: Ikuto, I think you met your match for the "Most Perverted of the Year" award.

Ikuto: Shit! I really wanted that award!

Merlee: Well, technically your still waaaay perverted... -points to notebook- since you said... well _thought_ it.

Ikuto: =_=; shut up.

Merlee: Wow, long outro! Anyway-

Ikuto: And who's fault is that?

Merlee: Shut up, you wannabe pervert! Anyway, as I was saying... R&R!

* * *

Side note: You guys will have to wait and see how perverted I (Merlee) was xP Chapter four, maybe three!


	3. Chapter 3

Merlee: Haha! Perverted chapter!!!! xD!!!

Ikuto: You actual made it the third chapter... I thought you wanted it to be the fourth...?

Merlee: Funny story about that-

Amu: She couldn't wait to post it -.-;

Merlee: Pretty much

Ikuto: =_=; That's... wow...

Merlee: I know, right? xD

Amu: Please tell me this fanfic isn't going to become a lemon-lime shake up -.O;

Merlee: ...

Ikuto: No response! That's a yes!!

Merlee: It is not! It's a..... a.... UNDECIDED!

Amu & Ikuto: Woooooooooooooooooooow...............

Ikuto: Amu, I think Merlee has gone crazy.

Amu: Yep.

Merlee: e_e; aren't you two nice?

Miki: Melee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters. She's merely an obsessed fan.

Merlee: I don't see why I keep writing intros since all of you people are mean to me T~T

Amu: Ikuto! You made her cry!

Ikuto: It wasn't me!

Merlee: ONWARD!

* * *

Ikuto's POV

Tuesday, Tadase didn't glare at me (as much) when I came by to pick Amu up from school. He walked right on past hand-in-hand with Yaya as I held Amu by the waist. It was a weird change of events, but I decided to worry about it later. Amu was talking to me.

"I didn't get to repay you for singing to me the other day. And my parents are out of town with Ami. Could you stay when you walk me home today?" I smirked at the idea, which Amu picked up on instantly.

"What are you thinking, you pervert?"

I snickered. "We'll be at your house… alone… no adults… _just us_…"

She smacked my arm. "Quit being a pervert!"

"You said it, not me." She blushed. "Let's go," I said.

"No! I don't trust perverts!"

"Amu-"

"I didn't want you at my house, anyway!"

"Amu, you're joking and you know it. And for the record, you can't play hard-to-get with me. I'm your _boyfriend_, after all."

"It's obvious I'm joking? Well, yeah, I am. But now you have to pinky-swear you won't do anything perverted at my house!" She yelled, holding out her pinky.

I smirked. "You're such a kid," I said, wrapping my pinky around hers.

"You're a kid, too! Remember?"

We walked in the direction of her house. "Of course I remember. It was the first time you heard me play violin, after all."

She smiled and we walked to her house, reminiscing old memories.

***

Amu led me up to her room and I tried not to smirk at all of the thoughts that raced through my mind. Amu, on the other hand, was shuffling through her CDs, and when she found the right one, she popped it into her stereo. _What is she doing?_ I wondered, although I had a pretty good idea of what she was doing.

"I know that I can't play an instrument or sing as well as you, but this is the best thing I could come up with. The song also has something in it that I'd like you to know," she said. Without waiting for a response from me, she hit the play button on her stereo and started singing.

_You with the sad eyes_

_Don't be discouraged _

_Oh, I realize_

_It's hard to take courage _

_In a world full of people _

_You can lose sight of it all_

_In darkness still inside can make you feel so small_

_But I see your true colors_

_Shining through_

_I see your true colors_

_And that's why I love you_

_So don't be afraid _

_To let them show_

_Your true colors_

_True colors_

_Are beautiful like a rainbow_

_Show me a smile then_

_Don't be unhappy _

_I can't remember when I last saw you laughing_

_If this world makes you crazy_

_And you've taken all you can bare_

_You call me up_

_Because you know I'll be there_

_And I see your true colors_

_Shining through_

_I see your true colors _

_And that's why I love you_

_So don't be afraid_

_To let them show_

_Your true colors_

_True colors _

_Are beautiful like a rainbow_

_If this world makes you crazy_

_And you've taken all you can bare_

_You call me up_

_Because you know I'll be there_

_And I see your true colors _

_Shining through_

_I see your true colors_

_And that's why I love you_

_Don't be afraid _

_To let them show_

_Your true colors_

_True colors_

_See your true colors_

_Shining through_

_I see your true colors_

_And that's why I love you_

_So don't be afraid_

_To let them show_

_Your true colors_

_True colors_

_True colors_

_Are beautiful like a rainbow_

(A/N: True colors. [Glee version] I don't own it. The link to the song can be found on my profile.)

I smiled. Not a smirk, but a smile. I'd only heard Amu sing one other time, and I teased her about it then. She was actually a good singer. And I knew what she was trying to tell me through the song. She loved me because she saw who I really was, even when other people said I was the "black cat of misfortune" before I left, and through all gang stuff that we went through recently. She loved every part of me, just like how I loved every part of her.

I clapped, the same way she clapped for me on Saturday. I strode up to her and took her by the chin. "Amu, I fucking love you," I said and I kissed her. She kissed me back immediately, not hesitantly like usual. I felt a strong wave of emotion build up and strike the both of us, drowning us in a warm tide. She wrapped her arms around my neck while I wrapped my arms around her waist. Another wave of emotion came crashing down. This time, I couldn't handle the impact. I fell backward onto the floor, Amu falling with me, the two of us still kissing. We stayed like that for a while, just kissing. But for some reason Amu pulled away, gasping for air, her sunlit eyes looking into my midnight sapphire ones.

"Ikuto…" she whispered, "What… just happened?"

I smirked and ran my fingers through her hair. "Everything," I whispered back, "Everything I could wish for." _Well, except I might need to wish for a clean pair of pants now,_ I thought, glad I hadn't said it out loud. Amu would have screamed.

"Why was that so…?"

"Intimate? I don't know, but I liked it."

She smiled. "Me too," she said, "Me too."

I put my hand on her bandaged cheek. "Nobody's actually said anything like that to me before," I said, referring to her song.

She blinked. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Oh, by the way, how do you feel about hav-"

Somewhere downstairs, I heard Amu's front door open and close. "Amu! We're home!"

Amu jumped up in shock, totally freaking out. "_Fuck!" _Amu nearly shouted. She turned back to me. "_Hide!_" she whispered, her voice shrill. When I didn't move, she shoved me under her bed. "Stay there!" she said, and I heard her hop onto the top of her bed. Luckily, she sat on the opposite end of where she shoved me.

"Onee-chan!" I heard her little sister yell as she came in, "Look what I got!"

I couldn't see anything, but I could tell Amu was annoyed. "That's cool, Ami. Hey, why don't you use that? You could write a letter to that boy you've been telling me about."

"Good idea! Thanks, onee-chan!" I heard her little sister's footsteps run out of the room and Amu's door close. I crept out from under her bed. I never did get to finish my question. I wasn't in the mood now.

"Hey, Amu, I'm just going to go now, alright?"

Her eyes grew sad as she stood from her bed and grabbed my arm. "Awww, why? Can't you stay?"

I sighed. "Amu, your parents are home, I don't think I _can_."

She sighed and let go of my arm. "Alright. But, what were you going to ask me earlier?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. Forget it." I walked over and opened her balcony door. "I'll have sex with you tomorrow," I said.

"_Do what?!_" She said, her face was bright red. Redder than I'd ever seen it before.

"I said 'I'll see you tomorrow'." I had a feeling I hadn't said that, and I could only imagine what I had really said. "I love you, Amu."

She nodded. "I-I love you, too…"

I jumped over the side of her balcony, and for the first time in my life, I think _I _blushed. What was I _thinking? _What had I _really_ said to Amu just now? And what was I doing? Did I really think she'd be okay if I said _'Oh, by the way, how do you feel about having kids someday'_? No, she'd flip. Why was I suddenly so serious about her? I was before, but not like this. And that kiss…

I felt a sudden tug on my heart. It felt like love, but different. _What is this feeling?_ I wondered.

Amu's POV

I don't know how long I stared out my balcony door after Ikuto left. He didn't _really_ say what I thought he did, right? And what was he going to ask me? '_Oh, by the way, how do you feel about hav-_' could have been turned into anything. He wasn't talking about taking our relationship to a new level, was he? Was it a good thing? Was it a bad thing? I didn't know, nor did I have any idea. And that _kiss_…

I felt a sudden tug on my heart. It felt like love, but different. _What is this feeling?_ I wondered.

Amu & Ikuto's POV (At the same time!!! Whoo!)

_What's going on with me? What does this mean? What __**is**__ this?_ I thought.

* * *

Merlee: -bursts out laughing- Bahahahahahhahahahaha!!!

Miki: Half of the readers probably didn't get it -.-;

Merlee: x'D I guess I'd better explain.

Miki, Amu, and Ikuto: HELL NO!!!

Merlee: Well... you see... when Ikuto thought _Well, except I might need to wish for a clean pair of pants now, _He meant that...

Miki: Don't!

Merlee: ... Amu made...

Amu: _Quiet!_

Merlee: ...Amu made Ikuto....

Ikuto: _Do you **want** to die?_

Merlee: -cracks up- AMU MADE IKUTO CUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miki: -.-'

Amu: O.Q;

Ikuto: =_=''

Merlee: Which means that-

Ikuto: -covers Merlee's mouth- **_SHUT THE FUCKING HELL UP!_**

Merlee: -bites Ikuto-

Ikuto: OW! What the-?

Merlee: ahahaha xD R&R, People! You could have at least let me say _that_...

Ikuto: And I did. So... -covers Merlee's mouth again-

Merlee: -stops him- I still have another annoucement!

Ikuto: =_= make it quick then.

Merlee: I have the cover art for this story done!! Link is on my profile! Check it out!

Ikuto: You done?

Merlee: -nods-

Ikuto: Good. -cover her mouth-

Merlee: =x=;


	4. Chapter 4

Merlee: -jumps up and down- Whooooo! So happy!

Ikuto: Do I even _want_ to know?

Merlee: yes!!! It's awesome news!

Miki: Get on with it then

Merlee: Buahahahaha! I just bought I new violin, and it's _blue!_ Blue is meh favorite color!! I'm learning how to play it, too!

Ikuto: Copy-cat!

Merlee: Nuh-uh! I've wanted to play the violin since I was like five!

Ikuto: But it's blue. Blue is _my_ favorite color.

Merlee: It's mine too, you pornorgaphic cumhole!

Ikuto: Cunt-face!

Amu: o.o; They're too much alike...

Ikuto & Merlee: WE ARE NOT!

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters, but she does appariently own a blue violin... Anyway, she's merely---

Merlee: IKUTO IS A MANWHORE!

Ikuto: MERLEE WATCHES GAY PORN!

Merlee: ....maybe I do!

Ikuto: Seriously?!

Merlee: hell fucking no!

Miki: Can we just get on with the story?

Merlee: e. e;

* * *

Ikuto's POV

The next morning when Amu walked out of her house, I felt the tug on my heart that I had gotten the night before. The fact that Amu's eyes were sparkling in a way I'd never seen before didn't help, either.

"Amu," I said, taking both of her hands in mine, "Whatever it was that I said yesterday, I didn't mean it. I don't know what I was thinking. Could you forgive me for whatever it was that I said?"

She leaned against my chest. "I wasn't mad in the first place. Shocked and a little freaked out, yes, but never mad. But I _do_ want to know what you were going to ask me before my parents came home."

I didn't say anything. _Should I tell her?_ I wondered, _She might really get mad at me this time. But I don't want to lie to her. What should I __**do**__?_

"It wasn't anything," I ended up saying.

She rolled her eyes. "I don't thin- Ikuto, are you…?"

My mind paused. "Am I what?"

"Are you _blushing?_" She asked, looking at me skeptically.

"_Am I?_"

She started laughing. "You are! You seriously are!"

"Uh…"

She held her sides. "_Oh my God! This is hilarious!_" She almost fell over laughing "_That's so out of your character!_"

I sighed. "You'll never let me live that down, will you?" Not waiting for her answer, I took her bandaged hand and started walking. We'd been standing in front of her house for a while. "If we don't start walking, then you'll be late."

She matched my pace. She laughed. "Now _you're_ changing the subject!"

I sighed. _I'm starting to pick up her traits,_ I thought, _pretty soon I'll have pink hair with an x clip in it. _"Fine. Maybe I did. I did. I admit it."

She giggled and put her head on my shoulder. Something in my heart pulled, and I worked hard to resist her. Her radiance tied a knot in my emotions, twisting my thoughts and rushing them around my head. I found myself thinking _Kids…. Has Amu thought about it any? It wouldn't hurt to ask… but not now. I need to meet her parents a little beforehand._

"Hey, Amu, I think it's about time you introduced me to your parents," I said.

"H-huh? You've already met my mom when you stayed at my house that one time and my dad would flip. _I_ don't think so."

"I didn't officially meet your mom. And Amu, we've been dating for over a week now."

She sighed. "Alright. Fine. My dad will freak out, but okay."

I smirked as I walked her up to the front entrance of Seiyo Elementary. "I'll see you later, okay?" I said.

She nodded, and for once, _she_ kissed _me_ first. It was quick, and not nearly as breathtaking as the one from the night before, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Amu broke the kiss sooner than I had wished. "I wish school was shorter sometimes," she said and ran off into the school right before the bell rang.

_Amu, _I thought, _I feel like I'm falling in love with you all over again, except harder and deeper._

Amu's POV like… two hours later…?

During lunch, Rima, Nagi, Yaya and I all sat together at the same table. Tadase was nowhere in sight.

"Rima-tan! Are you sure you haven't seen Tadase-koi?" Yaya asked Rima, jumping up in down in her seat.

"Yes, Yaya. I'm positive. Why don't you go look for him instead of _yelling in my ear?!_" Rima shouted in response. Nagi sighed.

"Rima-chan…" he said as he sighed.

"Fine! I'll find him!" Yaya said, running out of the cafeteria. Just then, I had the sudden need to pee.

"Guys, I'll be back, okay? I need to use the bathroom."

Rima and Nagihiko nodded as I walked out of the cafeteria. In the hallway, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Hinamori-san?" I heard a girlish voice say, "I don't get this math stuff, so I was wondering if you could help me with it tonight?"

I turned around and glared at Tadase. "Tadase-san, _you're_ supposed to be with Yaya, so don't try hooking up with me. Besides, I already have plans with Ikuto-koi." I added koi to make Tadase mad, and it seemed to have worked.

"O-oh… I see…" he said and walked away solemnly, obviously trying to guilt me into it. It might have worked on me once, but it wasn't going to work on me now. I rolled my eyes and walked into the bathroom. I wanted to _shoot_ that kid.

Ikuto's POV: Later

When I was waiting for Amu outside or Seiyo Elementary, I saw Tadase walk by me. He didn't have that Yaya girl with him, so I figured it was a good a time as any.

"You. Tadase. I need to talk to you for a second," I said. Immediately, he turned around and glared at me.

"What do _you_ want?"

I walked up to him and glared back at him. "If you go anywhere _near_ Amu with that look on your face any time again, you are going to be _dead_, got it? She's _mine_, not yours. Got it, little princess?"

He glared at me still. "You hurt her, didn't you?"

I blinked. "What?"

He snorted. "The gauze. You hurt her. Beat her or something. I'll never let you get away with that."

I rolled up my sleeve to reveal the gauze I had on my arm. "If I'm the one who hurt her, then why would I have gauze as well?"

"She isn't yours!"

I flicked him in the nose like you would a dog. "She's _my_ girlfriend. And did you see the sapphire necklace she was wearing today? _I_ gave that to her. So yes, she's mine. Why do you worry, anyway Don't you have that Yaya girl to take care of?"

He glared at me and stormed off right before Amu came up and clung onto my arm. "Hey, Ikuto! Ready to meet my parents?"

I nodded and wrapped my arm around her waist. "Of course."

* * *

Merlee: -glares at Ikuto-

Ikuto: -glares at Merlee-

Amu: Not again....

Miki: What happened _this_ time?

Merlee: Ikuto stole m laptop and watched porn on it! Gay porn!

Ikuto: .... It was in your bookmarks!

Merlee:......... was not!!!!!!!

Ikuto: Yes it was!

Merlee: You didn't have t click it!

Miki: o.O Uh... okay...

Amu: -.-;

Merlee: -stabs Ikuto with a fork- R&R PEOPLE!!!!

Ikuto: I'm going to _shoot_ you....

* * *

Note: No, I do not watch gay porn. It's a very long inside joke with meh bestie Dalila. I'll bring her in he intro next chapter. -glances at ikuto- he'd better run if I bring Dalila in... heh heh heh...


	5. Chapter 5

Merlee: -has iPod out, listening to VSQ (Vitamin String Quartet)-

Ikuto: Merlee? Are you okay? You're actually calm today.

Merlee: -blinks in shock- Huh. I guess I am ._. That's peculiar

Ikuto: o. O Are you sick or something? Besides, I thought you were going to bring your "bestie" in today.

Merlee: Yeah. About that, I decided to do that next chapter.

Ikuto: Why in the hell did you do that?

Merlee: Well, this is a more mellow chapter, and there's going to be some excitement in the next chapter, so I decided that I'll just bring her in next chapter. You know, to increase the excitement.

Ikuto: ...I'm going to have to get used to you being so _calm_ =_= it's... abnormal

Merlee: ._. don't blame me.

Ikuto: How can I _not_ blame you? _You're_ the one who's suddenly decided to be as cool as a cucumber

Merlee: I know, but whatever. Shut up -.-;

Miki: Didn't you have an _announcement?_

Merlee: Oh, yeah. I finally got my fanvideo done, people. The link is on my profile. Now, for the disclaimer.

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters. She's merely an obsessed fan.

Merlee: Pretty much.

Miki: O.o; wow, that's a change.

* * *

Ikuto's POV

"Mom, Dad, Ami, I have someone I want you guys to meet." Amu said as she walked into her house. Immediately, the three people she called came into the room from different places. Her dad looked as though he was about to cry while her mom giggled. Ami looked at us with her head turned sideways.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet Tsukiyomi Ikuto. He's my boyfriend," Amu said, grabbing my hand.

Her dad suddenly started crying. "Noooooo! Not Amu-chaaaan!!!"

"Wait, Amu-chan, isn't he the one who stayed here-" Amu shot a glare at her mom to tell her to shut up. She did.

"Kitty! Kitty Onii-chan!" Ami said, pointing at me.

"Noooo, Ami! Don't call him Onii-chan!" Her dad cried. Ignoring her dad, Ami ran up and grabbed both Amu's and my hand.

"Onee-chan! Kitty Onii-chan! Let's go play!" she said, pulling us along. But suddenly she stopped and pulled something out of her pocket. "Onee-chan! Look at the note I wrote to Hideaki-kun with my stationdary set!"

"Ami, the word is _stationary_," her mom said.

"Not Ami, too!" her dad said, still crying.

"That's cool, Ami. Why didn't you give it to him?"

"I forgot!"

"I know!" Her mom said, "Why doesn't Ikuto-kun stay for dinner?"

I sighed. It'd be rude to decline the offer, even though I wasn't that hungry. "Er, alright." I said. Amu clung to my arm. Ami ran into the kitchen, shouting, "Yay! Helping Mommy cook!" Her dad ran upstairs, also shouting, "Whhhhhhhhhhhhhy?! Why Amuuu-chaaaaaaaaaaaan?!" Amu just sighed.

"Amu-chan, is he the one you went to help?"

I was going to answer, but Amu did first. "Yeah. He's also the one who stayed here that once. Right, Ikuto?"

I nodded. "Yeah. Amu has helped me a lot, and I love her for it."

She slapped my arm to tell me to shut up, since it was her mom I was talking to, but I ignored it.

"She's become my life. I wouldn't trade her for anything or anyone."

"_Ikuto!_" Amu yelled, her face red from embarrassment. Her mom just giggled.

"Amu-chan, do me a favor and keep him around, would you?" She said. She started walking into the kitchen but then she turned back around to face us. "Dinner won't be ready for a while. Why don't you two go hang out in Amu's room?" she said, then disappeared into the kitchen.

I must have had a smirk on my face because Amu slapped my arm. "_Dummy! That was my mom! And quit smirking about it!_"

"Did you want me to make a _bad_ impression or something?"

She said. "No, but you didn't have to suck up." She started walking up the stairs, pulling me along.

"I wasn't sucking up," I told her, "I just told your mom the truth."

Amu blushed. I thought I was used to her blushes by now, but it suddenly started making me lightheaded and caused my heart to flutter in an unnatural way. _Amu blushes all the time. Why is this so different now?_

We walked up to her bedroom door and Amu opened it. I followed her inside. She immediately turned on her stereo. _What's the deal with that?_ I wondered.

Amu sighed, as if answering my question. "Ikuto, is something bothering you?" she asked.

"Why would something be bothering me?"

"Well, when you came and got me after school, you seemed… down, and protective. Why?"

I sighed. "That _Tadase_ kid. I talked to him before you came out. He thought that you had the gauze because I beat you up or something. And then he tried to say that you weren't my girlfriend. He's obsessed with you, and I don't like it."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah, I know. He pretty much asked me on a date today."

"He. Did. _What?_"

She nodded. "He asked me if I could help him with some math stuff tonight. I told him that I already had plans with you, and I think that made him a little mad."

I sighed. "It's obvious he doesn't like seeing us together. And, I think he's planning something."

She blinked. "Wh-what? What makes you say _that?_"

"Just a feeling. But, if he _is_ planning something against you, I promise that I'll protect you."

I saw tears gather in her eyes as she fell into me, creating a warm hug. "You promise me so many things," she said, "How do I know that you'll be able to keep them all?"

"I promise that I will," I said, "Trust me."

Suddenly, before I had time to think, I kissed her. Like the one from the night before, she kissed me back instantly. Waves of emotion came crashing done once more, but this time I was able to stand against them. Behind the kiss, I felt something else. It was the same kind of feeling I had when my heartstrings were being pulled, like earlier this morning. Something about the feeling made me want to go crazy and lose all control. But I didn't. Amu trusted me not to be a super pervert, and plus her parents were home.

I unwillingly broke our kiss. We'd somehow wound up on her bed, with me on top of her. _That's just wrong._ I thought _We're lucky her parents didn't come in._

"Amu," I said, rolling off of her, "I think… I think maybe we got a little carried away." _And I've ruined another pair of pants because of that._

She nodded. "Y-yeah. B-but it wasn't a-a b-bad thing. Actually, I-"

She was cut off. "Amu-chan! Ikuto-kun! Dinner's ready!" Her mom yelled from somewhere downstairs.

I sighed. "I was going to say," Amu continued, "I actually enjoy it when we get a little… crazy…"

I smirked as I grabbed her hand and we started walking down the stairs. _She enjoys it?_ I thought _Knowing Amu, I'd think the opposite. But this… this is okay. _

At the bottom of the stairs, Amu's parents were waiting. Her dad started crying again. "You sent them to Amu-chan's room _alone?!_" He cried. I couldn't help but smirk.

Her mom hit her dad with a newspaper. "Quiet! Amu-chan's a grown girl, she's allowed to have a boyfriend or two." Amu rolled her eyes and blushed lightly.

After a small argument between her parents on whether Amu should have a boyfriend or not, we finally sat down for dinner. Her mom had made tacos. (A/N: LAWLZ! Loooong story about the tacos xD)

"So, Ikuto-kun," her mom said while we were eating, "Do you have any hobbies?"

I nodded. "Yeah. I play the violin."

"And he sings, too!" Amu said. I shot her a glance, and she added, "well, _sometimes_ he does. I've only heard him sing _once_."

I sighed. "Oh really?" Her mom said, "That's nice! Very interesting! Have you ever written a song for Amu-chan?"

I nodded. "Once or twice."

Amu blushed and glanced over at me. "How come I'm only hearing about this _now?_" She said.

I shrugged. "Because I kind of forgot."

"You… _forgot?_"

I nodded. "Yep. But hey, it's one I wrote a long time ago. From when I first met you or something. Back then, you'd _kill_ me if you found out a did something like that."

She was silent for a moment. "Then you should play it for me sometime," she said.

I sighed. "I lost the composition. I lost it in my luggage when I went to look for my dad."

She gave me a skeptic look and slammed her head into the table. "You're so stupid…"

"Anyway, Ikuto-kun, what's your favorite color?"

I sighed. The rest of dinner was filled with questions and answers. _Well, at least they aren't glaring at me and throwing me out of the door,_ I thought.

Tadase's POV

It was obvious now that Hinamori-sama didn't want me anymore.

"_Tadase-san, you're supposed to be with Yaya, so don't try hooking up with me. Besides, I already have plans with Ikuto-koi._"

And what Tsukiyomi Ikuto said to me made me madder.

"_She's my girlfriend. And did you see the sapphire necklace she was wearing today? I gave that to her. So yes, she's mine. Why do you worry, anyway? Don't you have that Yaya girl to take care of?_"

I sighed. They had both mentioned me being with Yaya-koi. I liked Yaya-koi and all, but… _She's what's keeping Hinamori-sama and I apart,_ I thought, _if I could just get rid of her, then I'd be able to have Hinamori-sama, right?_

I got out my notebook again and wrote _Find a way to safely exterminate Yaya-koi in a way to make Hinamori-sama feel sorry for me. Carry out previous plans._

I grinned evilly. I plotted everything out carefully. _This __**will**__ work!_ I told myself.

* * *

Merlee: -holds my knee- ooow x_x

Ikuto: Do I _want _to know?

Merlee: Well, you probably wouldn't care, but I just got back from sledding at my friend Callie's house, and I hit this tree with my knee x_x it hurts like hell.

Ikuto: =_= how did you manage that one?

Merlee: ... I don't really know, but now I can get actual violin lessons. Plus my violin shipped today, so the day wasn't all bad.

Ikuto: And _how_ did you get a violin teacher out of this whole ordeal?

Merlee: Callie took violin lessons a while back and she gave me the phone number to her teacher. _Finally_ she gave it to me. I'd been asking for months =_= She said it sucked, though. Because she had to practice all her songs three times a day. But hey, I'm willing to do it.

Ikuto:You're odd, you know that?

Merlee: Yeah, I kind of figured that out at a young age. -pulls out iPod and listens to VSQ again-

Ikuto: -pulls her earphones out- Are you obsessed with string instruments or something?!

Merlee: Yes. Yes I am. Why else am I determined to learn violin? =_= idiot.

Ikuto: =_=; I still think you're copying me. With the blue crap, all this cat-like crap, the pervertedness, and the violin crap...

Merlee: =_= I was like this before Shugo Chara. Now shut up or I'll stab you with a fork again.

Ikuto: Violent much?

Merlee: R&R, people!


	6. Chapter 6

Merlee: -sighs- I didn't get to bring Dalila in on this chapter, either -_-

Ikuto: Why...?

Merlee: It takes too much effort -_- and I already have sooooo many things I have to get done in this fanfiction. I've got to do the evil thing with Tadase ad whatnot, and then I have to make your relationship with Amu go to the next level -_- I was barely able to add myself in this chapter, but I did anyway.

Ikuto: _Again?_

Merlee: -nods- Yeah. I'm just going to do that once in every fanfic I do now.

Ikuto: why...?

Merlee: Because I want to -_- duh. -listens to my iPod-

Ikuto: The Vitamin String Quartet again?

Merlee: Of course.

Ikuto: =_= so damned calm...

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters. Except for herself. She's merely obsessed with the Vitamin String Quartet and Shugo Chara.

Merlee: For the most part.

Miki & Ikuto: O_X Why so _calm?_

* * *

Amu's POV

Ikuto walked me to school as normal the next day, but something was different about him. He seemed more eager, and more uplifted. He didn't look at me the same, either. He looked at me more _intently _or something. There was more loving in his eyes now.

I guessed that I didn't look at him the same that I used to either, because whenever I looked at him _now_, it was like I was looking at something beautiful for the first time, something so beautiful to take your breath away. Something pulled me to him now, and something made him absolutely irresistible to me as well. Something made me want him, and I mean _want_. I had wanted him before, but not like this.

"Amu? _Amu!_" I heard Ikuto say. I blinked. I'd been off in my own world.

"H-huh?"

"You keep staring at me. Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Y-yeah. I-I'm f-f-f-f-fine."

He put his arm around my shoulder. "Are you sure? You're stuttering more than usual."

"P-positive." Actually, I wasn't sure if I was okay or not. But was I supposed to tell Ikuto that I'd been thinking about how much I wanted him? Was that even _normal?_ Would he think I was obsessed? Well, maybe I was… a little. But I didn't want _him_ to know that.

He sighed and held me tighter. "Amu, if anything's wrong, you can tell me."

I felt myself blush. _Wh-why is he being so sweet..? He's never has been __**this**__ sweet before._ "N-nothing's w-w-w-w-wrong. I-I'm just… t-thinking."

"About?"

_What am I supposed to tell him?!_ I shouted in my head, _I don't want to lie to him, but I don't want to tell him the truth, either. _"I was- nothing. Forget it."

He sighed, and I found that we were at the school now. "You live too close to the school," he said, "we get here too quickly."

"I know," I said, "If we lived together, though, it'd-"

"Wait, what did you say?" Ikuto said, looking at me skeptically.

"Huh?"

"You just- never mind."

I sighed and gave him a quick kiss. I decided I'd do that whenever he dropped me off at school instead of always waiting for _him_ to kiss _me_.

"Well, I love you," I said and turned to walk into school.

"I love you, too," I heard him say. I smiled to myself, and blushed slightly. I didn't know why, but I always felt glad when he said he loved me. No matter how many times he told me it, it was like he was telling me for the first time.

I walked up to my locker when Rima ran up to me. "Amu!" she said, "Something's wrong with Yaya!"

I sat my bag down immediately. "Where is she?"

"This way!" Rima said, running off. I'd never seen her run so fast. I followed her to The Royal Garden, where Yaya lay on the ground in front of the table. She was clutching her stomach, coughing and wheezing. Nagi knelt beside her, trying to help her. Tadase, on the other hand, was just watching with the most evil look in his eyes I'd ever seen. _And he's dating her!_ I thought, _Shouldn't he be running to the doctor's office or something?_

"_Yaya!_" I yelled. Rima and I knelt beside her, too. "_Yaya, what's wrong?_"

"I...I…I…tea…tea…tea…"

"I think she wants more tea!" Tadase said, grabbing a teacup. I saw a pain in Yaya's eyes as he said it. She obviously didn't want tea. I knocked the cup out of Tadase's hand, leaving it to crash onto the floor.

"_Idiot!_" I yelled, "_She isn't doing this because she wants more tea!_"

I turned my attention back to Yaya, who muttered, "P… p… poisoned… Ta… Tadase… p… poison …tea…"

_She thinks Tadase poisoned her tea?_ I thought _Or is she warning him that it was poisoned?_

"Yaya-chan, was the tea poisoned?" Nagi asked her. Yaya just continued shaking in fear, and possibly dying from the poison in her system.

"She needs help!" I said. "Yaya, stay here while we go get a doctor!"

Rima, Nagi, and Tadase all ran off to go find a doctor. I was about to get up, but Yaya grabbed my sleeve.

"A…Amu-chi…"

"Yaya, did Tadase poison you?"

She didn't respond, she only shook. She did manage to get a few sounds out, though. "Ye… e… ants… ooooooh… ot ... eh… ont… urry…"

The rest was all mumbles to me, but I could understand the last one. _Hurry,_ I thought, _she wants me to hurry._

"Don't worry, Yaya. You'll be okay. I promise," I said. She let go of my sleeve. To quicken my pace, I chara changed with Ran.

And I was off.

Ikuto's POV

I was skipping school. Again. I didn't know why, but I felt like there was something more important I could be doing. Until I could figure out what that something was, I hung out in my favorite tree. I had just about had it figured out when I saw some people run past. I recognized them as Amu's friends that she'd brought with her to America, and another as Tadase. _Shouldn't they all be in school? _I thought. I decided to shake it off as nothing.

But then Amu ran past, running faster than any of them. _She chara changed,_ I thought. I leapt out of the tree and ran up to her.

"Amu," I said, "What's going on?"

She stopped running to answer me. "It's Yaya! She's been poisoned! We're getting a doctor!"

_Yaya… isn't she the girl dating Tadase?_ I thought. "Amu, where is Yaya?"

"At school…"

"You're getting a doctor, but she isn't with you?"

She nodded. I sighed. "We couldn't exactly get her to a doctor, so we're bringing a doctor to her!"

"Just… wait!" I must have yelled it loudly, because her friends stopped, too. "I'll get her. You guys stay here."

Tadase glared at me. "No!" He yelled at me, "I don't want you around!"

"Listen here, kid," I said, taking an unnecessarily rough tone, "Do you _want_ your girlfriend to _die?_"

He was silent. "I take that as a yes," I said.

Tadase looked as though he were about to kill me. I didn't blame him. If someone had said that to me, I'd want them dead, too. But I didn't really think Tadase wanted to be with Yaya as much as he lead on.

"Tadase-san!" Amu said, stepping in between us, "Just let Ikuto do this! _None_ of us want Yaya to die! Just… _grow up and accept help when it's offered!_" She didn't exactly say it, and saying she yelled it would be an underestimation in itself. She screamed it so loud that someone peeked out of their window to see what was going on.

It may have been loud, but it worked. Tadase backed down, accepting defeat. He sat down in his place. "Just hurry, alright?"

"Thanks, Amu," I whispered, and I charged off to Seiyo Elementary.

Amu's POV: Hospital

We were excused from school for the rest of the day. Ikuto, against Tadase's demands and fits, stayed with us. He was really quick about getting Yaya to the hospital, too.

"Ikuto, thanks for helping Yaya," I said. His expression didn't change at all.

"It isn't a problem, but I didn't do it for Yaya. I did it because she's _your_ friend."

I felt myself blush. I was about to tell him thanks when the doctor came into the waiting room. "I have good news. Your friend will be okay."

I felt the spirits lift in the room. "Which one of you is Tadase? She's been asking for you."

Tadase stood up and the doctor gave him a skeptic look. "Erm, isn't Tadase usually a boy's name?"

Tadase glared at him. "I _am_ a boy, you retard!"

_Woah_, I thought with a cringe, _I've never heard him talk like that before._

"Uh… okay… go ahead, then."

Tadase shot the doctor another glare as he walked into Yaya's room.

_Why isn't he sad about the whole thing?_ I wondered.

Tadase's POV

I walked into Yaya's room and felt an evil feeling creep inside me. _I've done it,_ I thought, _Hinamori-sama will be comforting me in no time._

Ikuto's POV

I felt a need to leave.

"Hey, uh, Amu," I said, "I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back, okay?"

She nodded. "Soon, please."

I walked out of the waiting room. I didn't know where to go, so I decided to walk around the hospital and see where things were. I was thirsty, so I decided to find the cafeteria.

I looked all over for a map that said "YOU ARE HERE" with a big arrow or something of the sort. But I didn't find anything. I found the bathroom, and the wing were they did heart surgeries and whatnot, but I didn't find the cafeteria. I got so bored, that I decided to count the elevators that I found while trying to find the cafeteria. So far, I'd counted fourteen, when I heard an unmistakable sound.

A crying baby.

I'd wound up in the delivery wing.

_If this isn't complete and total __**irony**__, then I don't know what is, _I thought.

I tried to just walk past and pretend it wasn't affecting my brain, and I succeeded for a little while. But then I walked past the nursery. _Okay, why do they always make these windows so big?_ I wondered, _Are they trying to taunt me or what?_

Since nobody was around, I walked up to the window and looked inside. The babies were sleeping, and it touched a place in my heart that had never been touched. Something pulled in my heart. Not like it had when I looked at Amu. It was different than that. But yet it _wasn't_ different. It was the same tug, but a different feeling. I didn't know what either one were.

"Excuse me, sir? Are you lost?" I heard someone say behind me. I jumped and turned around. It was _that_ girl. The one with the wispy blonde hair. This time, instead of having a notebook, she had a violin case. What was her name again? Mersolina?

"Y-you!" I said, "Are you my stalker or something?!"

She tilted her head and gave me a confused look. "Uh, no. I don't believe I have ever seen you before."

"Liar! I was in America, and you were a florist, and… and… your name is Merlumina! I remember now!"

"Uh, I was never a florist. I work _here_."

"Then why aren't you in scrubs? And why the hell do you have a _violin?_"

"Perhaps you misunderstood. I volunteer here. I play violin for patients who aren't doing well. It's supposed to make them happier, even though the violin is a sad instrument. Anyway, are you lost, sir?"

I nodded. "Uh, yeah. I can't find the cafeteria, and-"

"Not physically, sir! That much is obvious. Are you lost _emotionally?_"

"What?"

"Just answer the question, sir!"

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I am, actually."

"Why so lost?"

"Well, I've been thinking about having kids with my girlfriend someday, and I want to ask her what she thinks about it. But I don't know is I _should_ ask her." _Why the hell am I telling this to someone I just met?_

She nodded her head in understanding. "I'm a bit lost, too. But maybe you should just ask Amu- er, your girlfriend and see what happens. No matter what her answer is, you'll still love her, right, Ikuto?"

I nodded. 'Wait, how do you know my name if you swear you've never seen me before?"

"Long story! Actually, it wasn't long. It was only nine chapters… and there's only one that could explain it, and it's not even half the chapter..."

"Oh, so you _write_, too?"

She nodded. "Yes, yes I do. Anyway, are you going to go back to find your girlfriend or what?"

"Yeah, but I kind of don't know where the hell that is."

"Oh, well the food court is first floor next to the restrooms. Inside there is a map with one of those big arrows that say 'YOU ARE HERE'. You'll know it when you see it."

I turned to walk away. "Thanks," I said.

"No problem. And good luck, Ikuto!"

I walked out of the delivery wing, sure of myself. _I'll ask Amu about the kids tomorrow,_ I thought.

* * *

Merlee: -sighs- =_= that's nasty..

Ikuto: That I'm asking Amu about kids? _You_ wrote it!

Merlee: Not that =_= it isn't relevant to that at all. My cats are being nasty.... =_=;

Ikuto: I see.

Merlee: But I have the urge to grab my camcorder and post it on youtube O_X... I wonder how many hits that'd get?

Ikuto; =_= you're as cool as a cucumber and yet you find time to be a pervert.

Merlee: Uh-huh. I _enjoy_ being a pervert. Best thing that ever happened to me. Actually, the _third_ best thing that's ever happened. The first getting my new violin and the second finding a teacher.

Ikuto: =_=... no comment

Merlee: That means you have a comment but you don't want to say it, right?

Ikuto: O_o shit you know me too well.

Merlee: =_= I suppose. Anyway, R&R people!


	7. Chapter 7

Merlee: =_= -smacks head into a wall-

Ikuto: =_= do I even _want_ to know?

Merlee: This week has been sucktastic =_=

Ikuto: why...?

Merlee: Well, my violin came in the other day, and the chinrest was broken off! But luckily my dad bought another one and fixed it, so _that's _fine, but then... heh...

Ikuto: =_= you lost your virginity?

Merlee: No, no, no. I lost that a long time ago!

Ikuto: O_o do what now?

Merlee: No, I'm kidding! No, I had drawn a _really_ crappy picture of a pikachu and it was so random that I wrote "The fuck?" Under it, and my mom found it xD

Ikuto: o_o ... wow

Merlee: And then she found the comic that started the whole "Ikuto watches porn!" thing that I did with my bestie Dalila... and.... heh....

Ikuto: =_= you're so perverted...

Merlee: And then I saw about the shittiest, sadist anime ever!

Ikuto: Do tell =_=

Merlee: It was called Air TV, and it almost made me cry a couple of times, and-

Ikuto: you? Cry? Wow

Merlee: Shut up! But it was really good until the end! Then I'm all like "Okay, that was fucking lame!"

Ikuto: ._.

Merlee: And this chapter is probably going to suck because it's kind of like a filler chapter! And then I had a very very VERY weird dream last night!

Ikuto: ._. This wasn't a pervy dream, was it?

Merlee: ... heh...

Ikuto: =_= it better not have been about me.

Merlee: ... heh...

Ikuto: WHAT?!

Merlee: I'm kidding! It wasn't about you! xD I'm not a fangirl

Ikuto: =_=; ... did anything _good _happen this week?

Merlee: uh.... -thinks- .... er.... I started an actual novel ._. it's inspired by Death Note.... that's about it.

Ikuto: =_=

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or any of the characters. She's merely-

Merlee: -stabs Ikuto with a fork- ON WITH THE STORY!

Ikuto: ow! Why the hell did you stab_ me?!_

Merlee: ._. because you're fun to stab!

Ikuto: =_=

* * *

Ikuto's POV

After a while, we left the hospital. The school had let out already, and Amu had invited me over to her house. I couldn't say no to her.

At that very moment, we were in her room, lounging on her bed. Her parents had gone out of town again.

I shifted in her bed and looked at her beside table. On it was a vase, inside of it were thirteen flowers, three red, three pink, three blue, and three yellow. In the middle was a midnight blue rose, obviously fake. Around the vase she had tied a green ribbon, one that I recognized.

"What are you looking at?" She asked me, looking in the same direction I was.

I pointed to her vase. "You… kept those?"

She nodded. "Of course. You didn't notice that the last eight-hundred times you've been here in the past week?"

I shook my head. "No, actually, I didn't. Why do you still have them? They're starting to wilt."

She shrugged. "So? I don't want to throw them out. They're important to me. I could have died, but you bought them for me anyway. You told me that you'd love me until the last one dies, when the middle one isn't real. So then you'll love me forever. And it's the color of your hair, which is a plus." She sighed, "This is going to sound weird, but you really do mean a lot to me, Ikuto. I can't imagine what life would be like without you anymore."

_I… mean **that **much to her?_ I thought.

"So wait," I said, "You're never going to throw them out?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm going to keep them, no matter how much they wilt."

Her words reeled around in my head. Was she serious? I didn't hear even a small hint of sarcasm in her voice. She meant it? Really?

_Amu,_ I thought, _I want you so much. I guess it's about time I've told you…_

"Um, Amu," I said, looking from the rose bouquet and directly into her sunlit eyes, "I, uh, need to talk to you about… something."

She blinked, her eyes showing an expression of wonder. "About what?"

I sighed. "The other day, when we were in the park, I saw something that made me think. A lot. I saw a few parents playing with their kids. It touched a place in my heart that nothing had before, and I started thinking about what it would be like if _we_ were parents."

She opened her mouth slightly in shock and whispered, "I-Ikuto…"

"And the day after, when we kissed after you sang, I felt something new between us. A kind of want, a lust, and a new type of love. It was like I was falling in love with you all over again. And, Amu, I realized something else. I want to start a family with you someday, when we're older."

I saw her eyes tear up slightly as she hugged me tightly. She didn't say anything.

I continued. "So, Amu, I've been meaning to ask you… Someday, do you want to have kids?"

For what seemed to be no reason, she started crying.

"Amu," I said, "Why are you crying?" _Was this the biggest mistake I've ever made?_

She shook her head as she buried her face into my chest. "I-I don't know. I guess I'm just… happy."

_She's… happy?_

Amu must have noticed my shock, because she took her arms away from me and looked into my eyes, smiling, and her eyes sparkling. "I-I'm happy that you asked. Really, I am. And of course I'd be happy to… to start a family with you someday."

My heart nearly stopped when she said that in both shock and excitement. I didn't expect her to say that, I'd expected her to completely freak out. I had a list of things I would say in a situation like this, but that wasn't useful now. I didn't have a clue in what to say. So I kissed her instead.

I felt the usual sensation between us, but stronger this time. Something inside of it all made me want her so badly, to even crave her. And for once, I gave into it completely.

I broke our kiss for a moment and smiled at her seductively, telling her what was on my mind. She returned the smile, and we both pulled the covers over our heads.

We were really lucky her parents weren't home.

(A/N: I'm pretty sure you all can guess what happens here! Yeah, I'm skipping out on the sex scene, I want to keep the rating at T. If _I _wrote a sex scene, I'd have to change the rating to MA, which is not an option on here … heh… I'm a pervert xD)

Next day and blah blah blah... Still Ikuto's POV!!!

The next morning when I was going to walk Amu to school, she walked out of her house and blushed slightly as she saw me, obviously thinking about the day before. Nonetheless, I wrapped my arm around her waist, making her blush even more. Was she _that _embarrassed about yesterday?

"So, Amu, you ready?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Y-y-y-y-y-y-yeah. L-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-l-let's g-g-g-g-g-g-g-go."

I looked at Amu skeptically. Her face was red. She wasn't blushing, but her face was flushed. And she was shaking, too. I hadn't made her sick, had I?

"Amu," I said, "Are you okay? You act like your sick, and you're stuttering more than usual."

She nodded. "I-I-I'm f-f-f-f-fine. I-I-I th-th-think I-I-I a-a-a-a-ate s-s-s-s-s-s-something y-y-y-y-yesterday th-th-th-that m-m-made m-m-me d-d-d-d-dizzy…"

She started to walk, and she made it two steps. But right after, she toppled over. Before she could fall completely to the ground, I grabbed her.

"Amu," I said, "I don't think you're up to school today."

"Y-y-y-y-y-y-yes I-I-I-I a-a-a-a-a-a-am!" She argued, regaining her balance only to lose it again, crashing into me.

"_Amu,_" I said, turning around to face her house, "Really, you need to stay home."

She shook her head. "N-n-n-n-n-n-no I-I-I-I-I-I d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-don't!"

"Seriously, Amu, you do."

"I-I-I-I-I can't!"

"Why not?"

"B-b-b-because I-I-I-I-I-I-I'll b-b-b-be h-home a-a-lone!"

"Can't your parents stay home from work _one day _to take care of their sick daughter?"

Amu shook her head. "N-no! Th-th-they a-a-a-a-already l-l-l-left, a-a-a-a-and th-th-they b-b-both h-h-h-have i-i-i-i-important m-m-meetings!"

"So wait, you'll be home sick, but all alone?"

She nodded.

"Well, then the solution is simple."

"Wh-wh-wh-what? G-g-g-g-go t-t-t-t-to s-s-s-s-s-school?"

I shook my head. "No, Amu. _I'm _going to take care of you today."

She looked up at me, her eyes wide. "I-I-I-I-I-I'll b-b-b-b-be f-f-f-fine! I-I-I-I-I d-d-d-don't w-w-want t-t-t-to b-b-b-b-bother y-y-you! Y-y-y-y-you n-n-n-need t-t-t-to g-g-g-go t-t-t-to s-s-s-school, t-t-t-too!"

"Amu, I _skip_ school over half the time, remember? And you won't bother me. I'd gladly do this for you."

"I-I-I-I-I-I'm f-f-f-f-f-f-fine! R-r-r-r-r-really!"

I shook my head. She started to fall over again, but I stopped her by pulling her close to me.

"Amu, I'm _not_ letting you go to school like this," I told her. She looked up at me again and nodded.

***

"Amu," I said, "Are you _sure_ you don't need anything else?"

Amu was lying on her bed, looking impossibly tired. I'd gotten her an ice bag, four blankets, a bowl of soup, a glass of water, cold medicine, and a book. She'd also made me bring the TV up to her room and the DVD player. _Maybe __**I**__ should be the tired one, _I thought.

Amu nodded. "I-I-I-I d-d-d-don't n-n-n-need a-a-a-a-anything e-e-e-e-else. Th-th-thanks, I-I-Ikuto."

I took her hand in mine. "You're welcome, Amu. So, do ou want to watch a movie or something?"

No response.

"Amu?"

I was about ready to shake her when I heard her snore.

_She fell asleep!_

I sighed and looked at Amu. Yeah, she fell asleep alright. _Sheesh, Amu_, I thought, _You're making __**me**__ tired. _

Without a second thought, I fell asleep with me head next to Amu's.

* * *

Merlee: Yeah, this chapter sucked =_=

Ikuto: .......

Amu: .........

Miki: .......

Ran: ........

Su: ........

Dia: ........

Yaya: .........

Rima: ..........

Kukai: .........

Merlee: Woah! When did all of the extras get here?! And why are you all quiet?! And.... staring at me like I'm crazy?

Ikuto: You. Are. A. PERVERT!

Merlee: =_= Wow. Did you just now figure that out? And besides, I thought you'd _like_ having sex with Amu! Since _you're_ a pervert, too!

Ikuto: =_=... you didn't write it out! I'm pissed at you now!

Merlee: Ah, so _that's_ your problem?

Ikuto: ...yep.

Merlee: =_=; pervert....

Ikuto: You wrote it, not me! =_=

Merlee: =_= -stabs Ikuto with a fork-

Ikuto: OW! What the fuck?!

Merlee: =_= revenge

Ikuto: I didn't do anything this time!

Merlee: ... so?!

Ikuto: =_= I think your friend Karrie is right. You're just _messed up._

Merlee: Why, thank you!

Ikuto: =_=........

Merlee: R&R! :D!

Ikuto: =_= you're insane

Merlee: Pretty much.


	8. Chapter 8

Merlee: O. o....

Ikuto: What's the deal with the surprised face?

Merlee: I'm apparently a good writer o_o.... I actually printed off _Dangerously Sweet _yesterday and I took it to school today and let my bestie Karrie, who's in this chapter later I might add, read it. She's never seen or read Shugo Chara, so she basically knew nothing about it, but she loved it anyway o_o through the whole thing she's all like "Oh my God! It's so cute!" Or "That's so sweet!". And she almost cried when Amu got shot and she slapped me for it! And then when the doctor was all like "She's going to die now. Bye-bye!" She's all like "!" and then when Amu's heart monitor went all " please call again later!" She was all like "It's so sad!" Then when Amu LIVES she's all like "Aaaawww that's so cute how he kissed her and she came back to life! :D!" =_= I'm never going to hear the end of it. _Now_ she wants to read this one and all other books I write. =_=

Ikuto: ... Wo_oW

Merlee: Anyway... yeah, again, this chapter is practically entirely Ikuto's Point of view o_o AGAIN

Ikuto: =_= Yeah, sure, talk about me like I'm not even here.... if you're sick of writing in my point of view, then why don't you quit writing in it?

Merlee: I never said I was sick of it o. O It's easier to write in, so I write in it a lot.

Ikuto: ...easier? ...how?

Merlee: You know, I don't really know O_ o

Ikuto: That makes no sense...

Merlee: Half the crap I say doesn't make sense. Oh! That reminds me of a story!

Ikuto: Oh god... =_= -plugs ears-

Merlee: I was in science today, and I have it like first period, and...

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or any of the characters except for the guests that come in this chapter. She's merely-

Merlee: ... and then Jaquelin took my copy of _Dangerously Sweet_, and then _Sasha _takes it and I try taking it back and all, but then she's all like "Is it nasty and perverted?! Knowing you, it probably is!" And then I'm all like "No, that's the sequel when they kind of have sex!" And then she's all like....

Ikuto: -pokes Miki- Hurry up with the disclaimer so she'll shut up!

Miki: -an obsessed fan.

Merlee: I AM NOT! So anyway, they're all like...

Ikuto: OH. MY. she isn't going on with the story, then _I'll_ do it! -takes keyboard-

Merlee: O_O No! I need that!

Ikuto: Too bad!

* * *

Ikuto's POV (What did y'all expect?)

"Amu," I said, shaking my pink-haired love, "Amu, you've been asleep for an hour. It's time to wake up."

She stirred and whined in protest, but she opened her eyes anyway. Reluctantly, yes, but she opened them nonetheless. She yawned and looked up at me with glassy eyes.

"Morning," She said. I blinked in shock.

"Your stutter is gone," I said, "Are you feeling any better?"

She shrugged. "A little, but not much."

I sighed. _She doesn't feel any better? This better not be morning sickness! Please God! Don't let this be morning sickness! _

"How exactly do you feel bad?" I asked her, fearing her answer.

"I have a stomach ache, a head ache, and I'm dizzy."

_Oh my God! _I thought, "Do you feel like you need to throw up?"

She nodded. "Kind of. I think I ate something yesterday. My mom made spaghetti and it didn't really taste right."

I sighed. _Please let that be it_, I thought. Even if that were the most logical explanation, I wouldn't let myself be relieved yet. I picked Amu up with one arm supporting her legs and the other supporting her back. (A/N: Yes, people, it's commonly referred to as "bridal-style, but I absolutely _**REFUSE **_to use that term! I have my reasons!)

"_What are you __**doing**__?!_" Amu yelled as best she could being sick, which wasn't very well.

"I'm taking you to the hospital, of course."

"To visit Yaya? I don't think visiting hours are-"

"No, _not_ to visit Yaya," I said, "I'm checking you in."

"What? I'm not _that_ sick."

"I just want to make sure that you're sick because of something you ate and not something… else."

"Else? What else _could_ it be?" she paused, "_What are you thinking?_"

I shook my head as I opened the front door t her house. "I just want to make sure you're okay, that's all," I told her, shifting her to my back in a piggyback fashion. (A/N: This is the only term I will ever use for carrying-fashions/styles.) "Wrap your arms around my neck, would you?"

She did as she was told, digging her face into my shoulder in the process with a sigh. "I fell like I'm five," she said, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. "I think your smell can get rid of my headache all on it's own."

I smirked without saying anything.

***

At the hospital, they took Amu into the examining room, but they wouldn't let me into the room with them. I tired vaguely telling them that it wasn't like Amu had anything I hadn't seen before, but they wouldn't let me in no matter how hard I tried. I guessed that it was just standard procedure.

I sat in the waiting room with my head hung low. _Please don't let her be pregnant! _I thought, _Please let it be something she ate! _

"Weren't you here the other day? Like yesterday?" I heard someone say. I looked up to see _that_ girl. She had a blue bow in her wispy blonde hair, and her violin case was strapped to her back with blue ribbons. Next to her was a girl with curly brown hair, a guitar case strapped to her back with pink ribbons. (My friend Karrie! Whoo!)

"Oh my God it's _you!_" I said in a sharp tone. Ignoring me, she turned to the curly-haired girl.

"Hey Karrie," She said, "Would you mind pulling my blue folder out of my case for me?" Merlumina turned around with her back to the girl, who was apparently Karrie.

"You don't _you_ do it?"

Merlumina shrugged. "I'm lazy."

"Do it anyway, you dildo!"

"Well, whatever." She pulled the case off her back and unzipped it, revealing a blue violin with a blue folder on top. _How much blue shit does this chick have?_ I wondered. She pulled the folder out, opened it, and pulled out a stapled bundle of papers and handed it to me.

"I was picking my sister up from the airport the other day, and I found _these_ laying on the lost and found table with _your_ name on them. I'm guessing these are the compositions you lost, correct?"

I gave the blonde a skeptical look as I took the papers from her. She was right, they were the songs I'd written for Amu. Not even copies, but the originals. I felt my jaw drop as I looked from the sheet music in front of me, to Merlumina, to Karrie, then back at the compositions.

"How the fucking hell…?" I said, looking back up at Merlumina.

"Just take the damned papers!" Karrie said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh my God!" Merlumina said, turning to her friend, pointing at her. "Where's that one thing?!"

Karrie looked at her as though she were crazy. "What one thing?"

"The… thing! With the one… thing in it!"

"_What thing?!_"

Merlumina shook her wrist. "The… one thing that I forget what it's called!"

"How is that supposed to help?"

Merlumina sighed. "The… thing! The bracelet! Yeah! That thing!"

"_Ooooooh_… You forgot what _that _was called? It's in my case." Karrie pulled the guitar case off of her back, opened it to show a pink guitar, pulled out a box, and handed it to Merlumina. Merlumina handed it to me.

"Why the hell are you guys giving me crap?" I wondered allowed.

"Well, you know how you gave Amu that sapphire necklace?" Merlumina said, "It's a bracelet to match."

I nodded in understanding, but then a new idea dawned me. "_How did you know I did that?!_" I said, almost screaming.

"I wrote it, of course!"

Before I had a chance to ask her what she meant by that, a girl with reddish-brownish hair and super-pale skin came in. She was obviously the doctor. (A/N: Whoop! It's my sister! :D)

"Tsukiyomi-san," She said, looking at me, "Your girlfriend is alright. She has a bit of food poisoning, but that's all. And since she was suffering from symptoms of morning sickness, we did a pregnancy test on her, and…"

I almost stopped breathing. "And what? _Tell me!_"

"…she shows no signs of being pregnant."

I let out a deep breath slowly. _Thank God! _I thought. "Can I go see her?" I asked. The doctor shook her head.

"Not yet. There's thirty minutes until the next visiting hour."

I looked at the doctor. "Visiting hours? Why do I need visiting hours? You guys aren't keeping her _overnight_, are you?"

The doctor nodded. "Did I not tell you that? She has a rare case of it, and we want to do a quick, overnight study on her."

I sighed. _Well, at least she isn't pregnant,_ I thought. "Alright," I thought.

The doctor turned to Merlumina. "Hey, Merlee, you found his compositions, right?" She asked.

Merlumina nodded. "Yeah. What about it?"

The doctor leaned over to Merlumina's ear and whispered something that I couldn't hear.

"Oh, that's a good idea," Merlumina said.

I looked at the two girls, confused. "You two… know each other?"

The two nodded. "Duh! We're _sisters!_" they said in unison.

I took another look at them and realized that they _were_. They looked so much alike that they could have been twins. Why I didn't see it before was a mystery.

Merlumina whispered something in Karrie's ear, and the two of them grabbed me by the wrist.

"Come on!" Merlumina said, walking out the door to the hospital.

"Wh-what the hell?!" I said.

"We're off to do random shit!" Karrie said, following Merlumina.

"_What the hell? Please don't rape me!_"

"That ain't what we're doing, pervert!" Karrie said.

"Karrie, ain't isn't a word!" Merlumina scolded her friend.

"Whatever! I'm not a writer like you!"

I sighed as the two of them argued. I guessed that they did that a lot.

I really hoped they weren't going to rape me.

(A/N: Nope, it isn't rape, people! Karrie and I are both perverts, yes indeed we are, but we aren't rapists! (Maybe…) You guys will just have to see what our plan is later on!)

Amu's POV

_Why are they keeping me overnight?_ I wondered. _It's been thirty minutes since the doctor left… when is Ikuto going to be in to see me?_

Almost as if he'd heard my thoughts, I heard a knock on the door to my room. The door opened to show Ikuto standing there with a small box in his hands and a smirk on his face that I could have recognized anywhere.

"Ikuto…" I whispered, trying hard not to smile wide, but I did despite my efforts.

He walked up to me and handed me the box he had in his hands. "I got you something," he said, "A get-well present."

With a smile I took the box, opening it carefully. Inside was a sapphire bracelet that matched my necklace. It was beautiful. (A/N: No link this time. D:)

"_Oh my God!_" I said, holding it up to the light to admire it more, "It's so pretty!" I slipped it onto my wrist and hugged Ikuto tightly.

"That's not all," he said, handing me a sheet of paper. I looked at it and saw words that looked like they were the lyrics to a song.

"It's one of the songs I wrote for you while I was overseas. I want you to sing along with me, okay?" He said. I nodded, and we both starting singing.

_I find the map and draw a straight line_

_Over rivers, farms, and state lines_

_The distance from 'A' to where you'd 'B'_

_It's only finger-lengths that I see_

_I touch the place where I'd find your face_

_My finger in creases of distant dark places_

_I hang my coat up in the first bar_

_There is no peace that I've found so far_

_The laughter penetrates my silence_

_As drunken men find flaws in science_

_Their words mostly noises_

_Ghosts with just voices_

_Your words in my memory_

_Are like music to me_

_I'm miles from where you are,_

_I lay down on the cold ground_

_I, I pray that something picks me up_

_And sets me down in your warm arms_

_After I have traveled so far_

_We'd set the fire to the third bar_

_We'd share each other like an island_

_Until exhausted, close our eyelids_

_And dreaming, pick up from_

_The last place we left off_

_Your soft skin is weeping_

_A joy you can't keep in_

_I'm miles from where you are,_

_I lay down on the cold ground_

_And I, I pray that something picks me up_

_And sets me down in your warm arms_

_I'm miles from where you are,_

_I lay down on the cold ground_

_And I, I pray that something picks me up_

_And sets me down in your warm arms_

_(A/N: Set fire to the third bar by Snow Patrol. I don't own. Link can be found on my profile.)_

We finished singing and I started crying. The song was so sad and so beautiful, like most of the songs I'd heard Ikuto play. Like Ikuto himself. "I thought you said you lost the songs," I said.

He nodded. "It's a really funny story about that."

I realized that he didn't really feel like explaining, and I wouldn't make him. I wrapped my arms around him and closed my eyes, breathing in his rain-like scent.

"Whenever you're scared, alone, or just want to see me, sing this song and I'll come running as fast as I can," He said. I giggled.

"That sounds like a line from a cheesy romance novel," I told him.

"I know, but go along with it, okay?"

I nodded. "I love you," I said. It was the best response I could think of.

He pulled me away from his chest with a smirk on his face. "I'll do you one better," he said, and he really did do me one better.

He kissed me.

* * *

Merlee: ...and so then Brittany and Karrie are all like "You really wrote all of this?!" and then I say, "Well, yeah. It's only twenty pages. It's not that long." And then they both started reading it and...

Ikuto: Merlee, shut _up!_

Merlee: And then my mom was all sad because I didn't let _her_ read it. I'm all like "It's fanfiction! You wouldn't get anything going on with the characters whatsoever!" So she's mad at me for that and...

Ikuto: MERLEE! SHUT THE FUCKING HELL UP!

Merlee: O _o eh? What?

Ikuto: =_= Why are you so _hyper_? What happened to being _calm?_ I miss that =_=

Merlee: o. O I guess I'm hyper because my bestie complemented my writing skills...? :D?

Ikuto: ... =_=.... wow.

Merlee: Oh yeah! I totally forgot this! -hands somewhere around ten pages to Ikuto-

Ikuto: -takes- what the fuck...? -reads- . Merlee you are my best friend now.

Merlee: I actually wrote the sex scene xD I'm SO not posting it, though! That'd be........ nasty xD

Ikuto: _ This is very... descriptive. And... nasty.

Merlee: That's why it's like nine pages long o_o

Ikuto: _ It's like it came out of the best porn movie ever.

Merlee: ...is that a complement?

Amu: Hey, Ikuto! Whatcha reading? -peeks over Ikuto's shoulder-

Ikuto&Merlee: DON'T DO THAT!

Amu: O_O......... -smacks Ikuto and Merlee- PERVERTS!!!

Ikuto: She wrote it, not me!

Merlee: He was reading it!

Amu: -_- whatever. You both are perverts.

Merlee: Pssh! I knew that a long time ago! -stabs Ikuto with a fork- R&R, PEOPLE!

Ikuto: OW! I didn't even do anything!!

Amu: Yes, you did! You were a pervert!

Ikuto: So was Merlee!

Merlee: Whatever! This is becoming too long, anyway xD


	9. Chapter 9

Merlee: Oh my god ow T^T -is sore-

Ikuto: I don't want to know... I really don't want to know...

Merlee: =_=............ no comment on that, Ikuto. And yes, you do want to know.

Ikuto: =_= well, not really, but I guess you're going to tell me anyway, so there isn't a thing I can do about it...

Merlee: You're right on that one. Anyway, I've started running. You know, like jogging and whatnot in my backwoods. I need to improve =_= like so bad. I'm running a half a mile in SIX FREGGIN MINUTES! =_= Oh my god I'm so slow!

Ikuto: .... you know, I bet most people reading this wouldn't be able to do that.

Merlee: Pssh. Whatever. Anyway... I was going to say something....

Ikuto: =_=............ you're so forgetful....

Merlee: -stabs Ikuto with a fork- OH MY GOD SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU WANNABE PERVERT-CAT!

Ikuto: _Wannabe pervert-cat? _I _am_ the pervert-cat!

Merlee: No you aren't! _I'm _the pervert-cat! You're just a fake!

Ikuto: You have no proof on that!

Merlee: -plays back video tape of lunch today when Dalila, Callie, and Karrie gave me the nickname "pervert-cat" because I'm a pervert and my blue bow looks like cat ears- HA!

Ikuto: ... only you would tape something like that....

Merlee: OH MY GOD I REMEMBERED WHAT I WAS GOING TO SAY!!

Ikuto: Oh my god does every sentence you say start with "Oh my god"?

Merlee: ... Oh my god yes... ANYWAY! I started a NEW fanfiction! :D! Whoop!

Ikuto: !!! WHAT?! What about the other ones that you never update?! Like Rosamaria, The Chosen One, and Missing?! And what ever happened to Pretty Rave Girl?! I was looking foreward to that!

Merlee: ......... Well, I got an idea, and I couldn't _not_ write it, so whatever! I just started working on the first chapter, so I shouldn't post it for a while. Besides, you should be happy! It's told through YOUR point of view!!

Ikuto: ... is everything you write through my point of view?!

Merlee: .........uh....... is this a trick question?

Ikuto: =_= ................................ Well, I have another question then.......................

Merlee: =_= spit it out, wannabe pervert-cat

Ikuto: =_=......................................................................... You're like the only fanfiction writer on here who swears up and down that you're not a fangirl..... what's the deal?

Merlee: Well, okay, for one, I _am_ a fangirl, just not of you!

Ikuto: O_O what?! That isn't fair! Who are you a fangirl of then?!

Merlee: -glances at Death Note posters and drools- O_o...............................................................

Ikuto: L Lawliet from Death Note, eh?

Merlee: -nods- O_O........................................................................ -stares at other Death Note posters-

Ikuto: ..... AND OF LIGHT YAGAMI?!

Merlee: -nods again- O_O................................ heheheh?

Ikuto: Your taste in guys is so weird....

Merlee: I'm a fangirl of other people, too! -goes onto Youtube and stalks Nigahiga, ShaneDawsonTV, and comicfire7- O_O........................

Ikuto: =_=....... you're a fangirl of all these people, but not me?!

Merlee: Chaa? And?

Ikuto: It's not fair! I'm sexy!

Merlee: -looks Ikuto up and down- o_o... eh... not really.

Ikuto: O_ O............................................. WHAT THE FUCK?! You're like the first girl to ever say that!

Merlee: -snickers- Does it hurt your ego?

Ikuto: .... =_= -nods-

Merlee: and this intro is too long xD

Ikuto: And whose fault is that?

Merlee: -stabs Ikuto with a fork- SHUT UP! Miki! Disclaimer!

Ikuto: QUIT STABBING ME!

Miki: -sighs- -_- you guys act a lot alike, you know.

Merlee&Ikuto: NO WE DON'T!

Miki: .... whatever. Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters. She's merely-

Merlee: -stabs Ikuto with a fork again- ON WITH THE STORY NOW!!

Ikuto: Why do you always stab _me_ and not _Miki?!_

Merlee: Because I don't wanna! _

* * *

  
_

Ikuto's POV (Did you expect different? xD?)

"Hey, Ikuto," Amu said, "Do you know why they decided to keep me here overnight?"

I sighed. I'd been there for around four hours, and Amu decided to ask something like this in the last ten minutes I had with her? Sure, I'd be able to come back thirty minutes after, but it wouldn't be for long. It was eight-fifty, visiting hours ending at nine, then starting up again at nine-thirty until ten-thirty. I looked out the hospital window at the starry night sky. I wished that I hadn't been stupid and checked Amu into the hospital so that we could be somewhere out in the world together.

I nodded, looking back into Amu's sunlit eyes. "Yeah, they said that you had a rare case of food poisoning and they wanted to do an overnight study on it."

She gave a skeptical look at me and blinked. "Then… why did they have me take a pregnancy test?"

I bit my lip. What was I supposed to _say_? "Er, they said that you had a few symptoms of morning sickness, so they just wanted to make sure that it wasn't a possibility."

"But how would they know we…?"

I shrugged. _Well, maybe it was my persistence to get to go into the examining room that gave it away, _I thought.

"_You_ don't think I'm pregnant, right?" She asked indifferently.

_Oh shit she found me out!_ I thought. I just smiled at her. "No," I lied, "I don't think you are."

She returned the smile to me. Then her eyes changed expression as she changed the subject. "You know, I've been thinking…"

"About?"

She took a long pause. "It's about something Yaya said when she was poisoned. It wasn't really words, more like mumbles, but it still sounded like she was trying to tell me something important. What does '_Ye… e… ants… ooooooh… ot ... eh… ont… urry…_' sound like to you?"

I thought about it for a moment. "Well, _urry_ sounds like _hurry_, but the rest sounds like gibberish. Why are you so worried about it?"

She shrugged. "I have a feeling that Tadase poisoned Yaya. I wish that I could go see Yaya to ask her what exactly happened, and I asked if I could see her, but they said that she wasn't up to seeing anyone at the moment."

"I don't really think Tadase would go _that_ far," I told her, "Besides, why would he do something like that?"

She shrugged. "I don't know." She looked out the window, then back at me. "You'd never poison me, right?"

I shook my head. "Why would I do something like that when I love you? How _could_ I do something like that when I love you?"

She shrugged. "Just asking."

I gave her a skeptic look, but then I understood. "Amu," I said, "You don't think I _poisoned _you, do you?"

She blinked and gave me a shocked look. "No, I'm not thinking that at all! What makes you say _that?_ _Did_ you poison me?"

"No, but just now you made it sound like you thought I did-"

"That's not what I'm saying in the slightest!"

"I didn't say that's what you said, I said that's what it _sounded_ like you said!"

"_That's the same thing!_"

"It is _not _the same thing!"

"It is, too!" She glared at me as she said it.

"Don't glare at me, Amu!"

"You glared at me, first!"

"I didn't glare at you at all!"

She whacked me in the face with her pillow. "You did! You really did, you stupid cat!"

"I didn't!"

"Yeah, Ikuto, you _did_."

"No, Amu, I _didn't_."

"_You did!_"

"_I didn't!_"

"_You just did it again!_"

"_I didn't do anything!_"

"Well, you know something? I don't _care _if you poisoned me! Actually, I don't care if you were to just… just… just… _go!_"

My jaw dropped as I looked at Amu with shock. She… didn't care?

"You want out of this relationship? Is _that_ what you're saying? It sure _sounded_ like it."

She glared at me again. "There you go _again,_ putting words in my mouth! I never said I wanted out of this relationship-"

"You said you didn't care if I were to just _go_, so you _implied _it!"

"_I didn't mean out of the relationship!_"

"But you mean that you don't care if I were to just _go_, so therefore you don't care _what_ I do, right?"

"That's not what it means, but if that's what you _want_ it to mean, then _no_ I _don't_ care!"

"Fine, then," I said walking over the to the door opening it, "I guess I _am_ going, after all."

"_Good riddance!_" She yelled at me. I slammed the door. I fell against the door and slid down onto the floor. _That's the first time we've fought since we've been together,_ I thought, _What were we even fighting __**about?**_

With a sigh, I stood back up. Visiting hours were nearly over, anyway, so I decided to go on with what Karrie and Merlumina had planned. I was glad that I had written the songs that I did, and that the setlist was organized in a too-perfect way.

Amu's POV

_Stupid pervert! _I thought, _Overshadowing the good things that happened in his visit by putting words in my mouth!_

I sighed and sat up in the hospital bed, looking out the window. _Well, I guess I kind of did make it sound like I thought Ikuto poisoned me, and that I wanted out of the relationship… _ with another sigh, I turned on the radio next to my bed, thinking that maybe some music would help. A fast, techno dance beat ended, and the DJ began talking again.

"Again, that was Cave In by Owl City. And now, we have a special guest with us _live_ to share some songs he's written with us, Tsukiyomi Ikuto!"

I blinked and rethought what the DJ just said. _Did I hear him right? _I wondered.

"Okay, seriously, do you _have_ to be so _perky _about it?"

My jaw dropped as I heard Ikuto's voice through the radio. _What is he __**doing?!**_

The DJ didn't respond. "Now, Ikuto-san, I understand that the girl you wrote these songs for-"

"Amu," I heard Ikuto interrupt, "Hinamori Amu."

"-is in the hospital tonight with a rare case of food poisoning, right?"

"_Yes!_ Do you _have _to announce that on the _radio?_"

"Do you think she's listening now?"

I heard Ikuto sigh. "I honestly don't know. We just got in a fight and-" he stopped mid-sentence, signifying that he didn't want something like that announced on the radio.

"Aaaaah… I see… Well, could you pretend that she's listening right now and explain when and why you wrote each song for her?"

I could practically hear Ikuto smirk through the radio. "I was going to do that _anyway,_" he said, his voice drenched in sarcasm, "but yes, in fact, I can."

"Wonderful! Explain this first song we have here, please."

I heard him scoff. "Amu, you know that time when you gave me a place to stay when nobody else would? I wrote this song then, because you were all that I had."

I listened carefully as an intro with a guitar and a violin played. _Where'd the guitar come from?_ I wondered, _Can he play __**guitar**__, too?_ I stopped thinking as I heard him sing, obviously pre-recorded.

_Strain this chaos, turn it into light_

_I've got to see you one last night_

_Before the lions take their share_

_Leave us in pieces, scattered everywhere_

_Just give me a chance to hold on_

_Just give me something to hold onto_

_It's so clear now that you are all that I have_

_I have no fear 'cause you are all that I have_

_You're cinematic, razor sharp_

_A welcome arrow through the heart_

_Under your skin feels like home_

_Electric shocks on aching bones_

_Give me a chance to hold on_

_Give me a chance to hold on_

_Give me a chance to hold on_

_Just give me something to hold onto_

_It's so clear now that you are all that I have_

_I have no fear 'cause you are all that I have_

_It's so clear now that you are all that I have_

_I have no fear 'cause you are all that I have_

_There is a darkness deep in you_

_A frightening magic I cling to_

_Give me a chance to hold on_

_Give me a chance to hold on_

_Give me a chance to hold on_

_Just give me something to hold onto_

_It's so clear now that you are all that I have_

_I have no fear now you are all that I have_

_It's so clear now that you are all that I have_

_I have no fear now you are all that I have_

_(A/N: You're all I have by Snow Patrol. I don't own. Link can be found on my profile.)_

I felt my expression change as the song ended. For a while, I was all Ikuto had, and I _still_ might have been all he had. And I was so mean to him sometimes…

"The next song," Ikuto continued, "Is one that I wrote during any moment I had with you that I wished would never end."

_We'll do it all_

_Everything_

_On our own_

_We don't need_

_Anything_

_Or anyone_

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me_

_And just forget the world?_

_I don't quite know_

_How to say_

_How I feel_

_Those three words_

_Are said too much_

_They're not enough_

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me_

_And just forget the world?_

_Forget what we're told_

_Before we get too old_

_Show me a garden_

_That's bursting into life_

_Let's waste time_

_Chasing cars_

_Around our heads_

_I need your grace_

_To remind me_

_To find my own_

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me_

_And just forget the world?_

_Forget what we're told_

_Before we get too old_

_Show me a garden_

_That's bursting into life_

_All that I am_

_All that I ever was_

_Is here in your perfect eyes_

_They're all I can see_

_I don't know where_

_Confused about how as well_

_Just know that these things_

_Will never change for us at all_

_If I lay here_

_If I just lay here_

_Would you lie with me_

_And just forget the world?_

_(A/N: Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. I don't own. Link can be found on my profile.) _

My heart nearly stopped. Of course I'd forget the world with Ikuto. Did he need to ask?

"Amu, I when I first left to find my dad, I realized just how much I needed you, and why I loved you in the first place. I wrote this song when I was wishing you were with me, sitting beside me when I felt alone."

_The stars lean down to kiss you_

_And I lie awake and miss you_

_Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere_

_'Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly_

_But I'll miss your arms around me_

_I'd send a postcard to you, dear_

_'Cause I wish you were here_

_I'll watch the night turn light-blue_

_But it's not the same without you_

_Because it takes two to whisper quietly_

_The silence isn't so bad_

_'Til I look at my hands and feel sad_

_'Cause the spaces between my fingers_

_Are right where yours fit perfectly_

_I'll find repose in new ways_

_Though I haven't slept in two days_

_'Cause cold nostalgia_

_Chills me to the bone_

_But drenched in vanilla twilight_

_I'll sit on the front porch all night_

_Waist-deep in thought because_

_When I think of you I don't feel so alone_

_I don't feel so alone, I don't feel so alone_

_As many times as I blink_

_I'll think of you tonight_

_I'll think of you tonight_

_When violet eyes get brighter_

_And heavy wings grow lighter_

_I'll taste the sky and feel alive again_

_And I'll forget the world that I knew_

_But I swear I won't forget you_

_Oh, if my voice could reach_

_Back through the past_

_I'd whisper in your ear_

_Oh darling, I wish you were here_

_(A/N: Vanilla Twilight by Owl City. I do not own. Link can be found on my profile.)_

I looked down at my hands when the song finished. _Fit… perfectly? _I thought.

"The next song I wrote at various times when we were supposed to be enemies, but I think that right now, it fits more than it ever could have before."

_I want something_

_That's purer than the water_

_Like we were_

_It's not there now_

_Ineloquence and anger_

_Are all we have_

_Like Saturn's rings_

_An icy loop around me_

_Too hard to hold_

_Lash out first_

_At all the things we don't like_

_Or understand_

_And it's beginning to get to me_

_That I know more of the stars and sea_

_Than I do of what's in your head_

_Barely touching in our cold bed_

_Are you beginning to get my point?_

_That all this fighting with aching joints_

_It's doing nothing but tire us out_

_No one knows what this fight's about_

_The answer phone_

_The lonely sound of your voice_

_Frozen in time_

_I only need_

_The compass that you gave me_

_To guide me on_

_And it's beginning to get to me_

_That I know more of the stars and sea_

_Than I do of what's in your head_

_Barely touching in our cold bed_

_Are you beginning to get my point?_

_That all this fighting with aching joints_

_It's doing nothing but tire us out_

_No one knows what this fight's about_

_It's so thrilling but also wrong_

_Don't have to prove that you are so strong_

_'Cause I can carry you on my back_

_After our enemies attack_

_I tried to tell you before I left_

_But I was screaming under my breath_

_You are the only thing that makes sense_

_Just ignore all this present tense_

_We need to feel breathless with love_

_And not collapse under its weight_

_I'm gasping for the air to fill_

_My lungs with everything I've lost_

_We need to feel breathless with love_

_And not collapse under its weight_

_I'm gasping for the air to fill_

_My lungs with everything I've lost_

_(A/N: It's Beginning to Get to Me by Snow Patrol. I do not own. Link can be found on my profile)_

Instantly when the song ended, I cried. What _were_ we fighting about? It didn't make any sense. At all. I grabbed my pillow and hugged it as I curled up in my bed. _I wish I never said anything about Yaya being poisoned in the first place. _

"You already know about this song, Amu. If you're listening to this broadcast, I want you to sing with me."

I remembered Ikuto's words before I started singing. "_Whenever you're scared, alone, or just want to see me, sing this song and I'll come running as fast as I can_." Is this what he meant?

_I find the map and draw a straight line_

_Over rivers, farms, and state lines_

_The distance from 'A' to where you'd 'B'_

_It's only finger-lengths that I see_

_I touch the place where I'd find your face_

_My finger in creases of distant dark places_

_I hang my coat up in the first bar_

_There is no peace that I've found so far_

_The laughter penetrates my silence_

_As drunken men find flaws in science_

_Their words mostly noises_

_Ghosts with just voices_

_Your words in my memory_

_Are like music to me_

_I'm miles from where you are,_

_I lay down on the cold ground_

_I, I pray that something picks me up_

_And sets me down in your warm arms_

_After I have traveled so far_

_We'd set the fire to the third bar_

_We'd share each other like an island_

_Until exhausted, close our eyelids_

_And dreaming, pick up from_

_The last place we left off_

_Your soft skin is weeping_

_A joy you can't keep in_

_I'm miles from where you are,_

_I lay down on the cold ground_

_And I, I pray that something picks me up_

_And sets me down in your warm arms_

_I'm miles from where you are,_

_I lay down on the cold ground_

_And I, I pray that something picks me up_

_And sets me down in your warm arms_

(A/N: Once again, Set fire to the third bar by Snow Patrol. I still don't own it, and the link is still on my profile.)

"Well, that's all the time we have with Ikuto-san today!" The DJ said, "He has to get back to see his girlfriend at the hospital- Hey! Where did he go?!"

While the people at the radio station flipped out at Ikuto's disappearance, I knew exactly where he went. He was running to the hospital to see me as fast as he could, because he knew that I'd be singing along. I glanced over at the clock and saw that it was almost nine-thirty. I'd be seeing Ikuto soon.

Ikuto's POV

I had a feeling that Amu was still mad at me, but I was going to see her again, anyway. If she thought that one fight was going to get rid of me, she was crazy.

I made it at exactly nine-thirty. I opened the door to her and peeked inside. She was staring out the window in a way that I couldn't see her face.

"Amu?" I said, creeping into the room, "Are you still mad at me? Are we still in love?"

She turned around and looked at me. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and more were coming out of her eyes. She tried her best to smile at me, but it faded quickly. _Why is she crying?_ I asked myself silently, _Is something the matter?_

"_Amu?_" I said, walking up to her and wrapping my arms around her, "_What's wrong? Is it __**not**__ food poisoning?!_" _Is she really pregnant?! _I asked silently.

She shook her head and buried her face into my chest. "It's not that at all. It's just… I'm really sorry… it was a stupid thing to fight about, and-"

I silenced her by putting my hand over her mouth. "Hush, Amu. I'm sorry, too. Now let's let it go. It's in the past now, right?"

She nodded and I took my hand off her mouth. "Your songs are really pretty," she said, "They're always so sad and beautiful, just like you."

I smirked to myself. "Thanks, Amu," I said, "Thanks for listening."

She nodded. "Oh, but since when do you play _guitar?_"

Even though she couldn't see with her face buried into my chest, I gave her a confused look. "What…?"

"In your songs. There was a guitar and a violin, and I'm guessing that since they're _your_ songs that you'd be playing the instrumental part-"

I laughed. "I'm not playing in the instrumental parts in those songs," I told her, "not even the violin."

She looked up at me without pulling away even an inch and gave me the same confused look I'd given her. "Then who is?"

I shook my head in a you-wouldn't-believe-it-but-I'll-tell-you-anyway fashion. "The two girls who returned the sheet music to me are playing. It's a very long, weird, complicated, _random_ story."

"Uh, okay…?" Amu said, "That makes… little sense. How would they have…? Never mind."

I nodded. "Yeah, it even confuses me."

She sighed and flopped backward onto the hospital bed. "I really don't want to stay the night here," she said, "I'm going to be lonely."

"Amu," I said, stroking her hair, "You don't have to feel alone about it. Remember the song I taught you?"

She nodded. "Yeah, but still. I wish this hospital would let you stay with me."

I smirked. "Do you have any idea how dangerous it'd be for the two of us to be alone together _all night?_"

She scowled at me. "That's not funny! That is _so_ not funny!"

I felt my smirk widen. "The truth isn't meant to be funny."

She pulled herself away from me, blushed, and turned the other way, biting her lip.

"Amu, you're blushing _again_."

She looked back at me with a pout on her face. "S-so? I-is it illegal?"

I nodded and pulled her next to me again. "It is when you _tempt _me like this."

I could tell she was blushing again when she slammed her fist into my chest. "You're such a pervert," she said with a hint of a giggle in her voice.

"You expected different?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

I smirked, kissing her neck softly and quickly. "Good," I said when I pulled away, "because you aren't getting anything different.

She buried her face into my chest. "And I'm glad," she said, "I'm glad I'm stuck with a stupid pervert."

* * *

Merlee: Whoo! Sucky chapter =_=

Ikuto: =_= was this a filler chapter or something?

Merlee: -stab Ikuto with a fork and nods- pretty much.

Ikuto: And didn't you get a review telling you not to write with songs?!

Merlee: yep.

Ikuto: ..... you don't take orders from reviews, do you?

Merlee: Nope. Especially since Kept Promises is a MUSICAL! xD

Ikuto: HOW CAN A BOOK BE A MUSICAL?! AND WHY THE HELL IS IT A MUSICAL IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

Merlee: Turn off the damned cap-locks, Ikuto! And A book can be a musical when it involves a bunch of music xD It's a musical because I LOVE MUSIC. =_= Duh.

Ikuto: ......... =_= I love music, too, but I don't write freaking musicals.

Merlee: -sighs- you wouldn't get it =_=... you don't sing.

Ikuto: Wait, you sing?!

Merlee: -nods- chaa? I'm in choir.

Ikuto: Is there anything you don't do?! You write, you sing, you run, you're going to learn to play the freaking violin because you're a copy-cat...

Merlee: OH MY GOD I am NOT copying you! And yes, there are things I don't do!

Ikuto: Like?

Merlee: Any sport besides running! And I don't drink!

Ikuto: So that means you watch porn?!!

Merlee: ................................................ no comment!

Ikuto: OH MY GOD MERLEE WATCHES PORN!

Merlee: De Ja Vu much? xD? And no, I don't watch porn. I don't turn in my homework, either xD that's why I have F's in everything xD

Ikuto: .... so wait, what other kind of shit do you do?

Merlee: I draw, and write songs, act, daydream, edit photos, stargaze, sleep, attempt to post things on youtube sometime, dance to music in a very shitty way with friends, play video games, watch anime, read, meditate...

Ikuto: ...you.... meditate...?

Merlee: -nods- so?

Ikuto: why............................?

Merlee: ....... -stabs Ikuto with a fork- =_=..........

Ikuto: =_= you aren't going to answer me on the last one, are you?

Merlee: nope! So anyway....

Ikuto: Merlee i think you have too many hobbies!

Merlee: yep! I do ^_^

Ikuto: You are _so_ weird........

Merlee: Yeah and? xD?

Ikuto: And did I hear you say that you _stargaze?! _

Merlee: Yep, you did. xD

Ikuto: ..... o_ o I really didn't expect to hear that from you.............

Merlee: What's that supposed to mean?! -stabs Ikuto with a fork-

Ikuto: OW! QUIT DOING THAT, YOU LOSER!

Merlee: Guh, this outro is too long xD and pointless. R&R!!!

Ikuto: =_= I'm going to kill you sometime....


	10. Chapter 10

Merlee: =_=.......

Ikuto: o_ O I don't want to know what's wrong this time.

Merlee: Too bad! This week has been very... strange.

Ikuto: as in...?

Merlee: Well, some guy I've only talked to like once asked me out and then was confused when I told him no -_-.. and I'm all like "Dude, I don't even know you!" And then it turns out that he's one of my best friend's ex-boyfriend... who broke up with her right before he asked me out -_-.... guh. And then two of my "friends" (Who I actually can't stand. At all.) tried talking me into going out with him -_-... guh. And he's UGLY -______-... and I already have someone I like -_-

Ikuto: o_ O You do know that fangirl obsessions don't count as really liking somebody, right?

Merlee: =_=....... -stabs Ikuto with a fork- I'm _not_ talking about L or comicfire7. I like an actual person, too! I've liked him for seven... eight? years T~T he was my best friend for ages, but then he moved! =_=...

Ikuto: =_= poor you. -sarcasm-

Merlee: That's soooooo not nice! Dx

Ikuto: It wasn't supposed to be. Is that _all_ that happened during the week?

Merlee: -sniffs- No T~T...

Ikuto: Then what else?

Merlee: -sniffs- My cat got stuck in a tree! My favorite cat, too! T~T poor Crooks!

Ikuto: err, Crooks?

Merlee: -nods- He has a crooked tail OwO I didn't name him -_- I'd come up with a _cool_ name xD

Ikuto: Like what? Lawliet?

Merlee: ... maybe xD No, just kidding. It would be something you don't usually hear. xD I don't know what it would be, though.

Ikuto: ...=_=... that's fantastic.

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters. She's-

Merlee: Merely sad that Crooks is stuck in a tree T~T

* * *

Ikuto's POV (Yes, again.)

"_Amu~?_" I called, peeking into her room the next morning. I came to the hospital to check her out at the time the doctor said it'd be best. She stirred in her bed and sat up. I'd waken her up.

"Wha~?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and giving me a confused look. "Why are you in my room so early in the morning?" She glanced over at her clock, which said it was almost four thirty in the morning.

"Are you ready to go home?" I asked her, walking up to her bed and taking her bandaged hand in mine.

"H-home? I'm not home?" She glanced around the room and gasped. "I'm _not_ home! Where am I?!"

I walked into her room slowly and I look her hand. "You're in the hospital, remember?"

"O-oh? Oh! I guess I am. I totally forgot."

I smirked. Amu was so _dense _sometimes. "So, do you _want _to go home or not?"

She nodded. "Y-yeah." She said, standing up. She was wobbly on her feet and almost toppled over. I grabbed her around her shoulder, steadying her, and setting her on her bed again. I noticed that she was still in her hospital gown.

"Amu, you _might _want to change into normal clothes," I suggested. She looked down at her gown sleepily and looked up at me with that glassy-eyed look she'd given me in the hospital in America.

"Could you do it?" She asked, nearly falling asleep.

_Do what now?! _I thought, "Are you_ serious? _You're old enough to change your own clothes!"

"But I'm tired," She whined, "And it's not like you haven't seen-"

"You're not two, Amu. You can do it yourself."

"_Pleeaasse?_"

I sighed. "_Fine_. Where _are_ your clothes, anyway?"

She pointed lazily to her bedside table. "In… there…" she said in a tired tone.

Shaking my head, I reached into the drawer in her bedside table and pulled out her clothes. _I can __**not**__ believe I'm doing this. _I thought, turning back to Amu.

"Are you're too tired to-" I was interrupted by the sound of snoring. Amu was flopped in an awkward position, sound asleep. _I guess that answers my question_, I thought.

With a sigh I reached for the tie on Amu's hospital gown and stopped. _She could at least be __**awake. **__This feels totally… wrong. _I pulled on the tie. _This is awkward… and to think that I'm a pervert._ I had just taken off her gown…

… when the door to her room opened.

"Tsukiyomi-san, is Amu ready to-" the reddish-blonde doctor said, peeking into the room. She took a look at me and stopped dead in her tracks, her jar dropping. "That could have waited until you got her out of here, you know!" She said.

I felt myself blush in the way that Amu always did. "I-It's not what it looks like!" I shouted, "Sh-she fell asleep and she needed to change clothes and-"

"_Oh sweet sister of mine!_" I heard someone shout as Merlumina, Karrie, and a girl with coffee-colored skin and a clarinet case came running up. "Can you give us some money for the vending machine? Dalila is hungry so-" She took a look at her sister and followed her gaze, her friends doing the same. They all gave me the same look, jaws dropped and eyes wide.

"Okay, that's just…" the girl with coffee-colored skin, I guess her name was Dalila, said, holding up her hand and walking away.

"…wow…" Karrie said, showing nothing but a surprised expression.

The doctor shook her head and walked away. "Horny little teenagers," She mumbled.

Merlumina, on the other hand, started snickering and pulled a camcorder out of her pocket. "_This is going on youtube!_" I glared at her. Merlumina was obviously the pervert of the group.

"_This is __**not **__what it looks like!_ _Put away the camcorder, you pervert!_" I screamed. I never thought I'd call someone else a pervert.

"_Hell no!_" She said, "This is good shit! I wonder how many views this will get? I'll call it 'hospital porn'!"

I got up and shut the door on them. "You guys are perverts!" I yelled through the door.

Merlumina snickered. "The camera wasn't even _on, _dumb-ass!" She yelled back.

I rolled my eyes. I never thought I could meet someone _that_ perverted.

***

After I finally finished changing Amu out of her hospital gown, I carried her home on my back in a piggyback fashion. Now we were in her room. I sat her down gently on her bed, covering her with her blankets. I kissed the top of her head and turned. I was starting to walk away when something caught the hem of my shirt.

"…stay…" she whispered, "…please… stay…"

I turned around to see her with her eyes wide open with that glassy look in them and behind that a hint of pleading. The bandage on her neck was coming undone, I noticed, and I quickly fixed it.

"Amu, it's four thirty in the morning. I don't think I can-"

"…please~? Please don't leave me…"

_Please don't leave me. _I tried not to cave into her words.

"You'll only fall asleep."

She shook her head. "No I won't. I promise I won't."

"But you need to sleep."

"But-"

"It's four thirty in the morning, Amu."

"Please? Can't you stay, Ikuto-koi? Please don't leave me."

Ikuto-_koi?_ There wasn't any way I could say no now. "Alright," I said, lying next to her on her bed.

"Thanks, Ikuto-koi," She said, clinging to my arm.

"I thought you hated the -koi honorific," I said, "Since you never let me call you Amu-koi."

"Huh? What brought _that _up?"

"You just called me Ikuto-_koi_."

"I did?"

"Yes, you did, _Amu-koi._"

"…oh…" she said, looking thoughtful, "I guess I did. And I don't hate the honorific."

"Then it's okay if I call you Amu-_koi?_"

"Why wouldn't it be? You can call me that if you want to. Oh! That reminds me! You won't guess what! I'm-"

Before she could finish her statement, there was a big crash outside like someone digging through a trash can, and it sounded like it were right outside Amu's house. The sound spooked Amu and she jumped, clinging to me tightly.

"Wh-wh-wh-what w-w-w-w-was th-th-th-th-th-th-that?" She stuttered, her voice fragile and scared.

"Do you want me to look?" I asked her.

She nodded.

I got up from her bed and went over to her balcony and glanced over the side. When I didn't see anything, I jumped over the side. Unsurprisingly, I saw a familiar figure moving a trash can next to an open window.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?" I asked. Immediately, Tadase turned around and shot a glare at me, but then he softened it and tried giving me that innocent look.

"Well, I went by to see Yaya-koi in the hospital and I thought it'd be nice if I came by to see Hinamori-san," he said, and it was obvious that he was lying.

"At _four thirty in the morning? _And if you came by to see her, then why are you sneaking into her house?"

"It's a-"

"Well, I don't care. You obviously didn't hear me the first time. _Stay away from Amu-koi,_" I grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground, "If I catch you sneaking around her house ever again, I _will_ beat you."

The little rat squirmed off of the ground and back onto his feet. "Hinamori-san confessed to me before she even knew you! I think I have rights!" He yelled.

"No, you _don't_. She changed her mind about you, for obvious reasons, too. Besides, aren't you supposed to be with that Yaya girl, right? Quit obsessing over _my _girlfriend and start obsessing over _yours_, alright?"

He shook his head in defiance. "I'm not going to follow your orders, Tsukiyomi Ikuto. I don't take orders from people who abuse their girlfriends."

In blind anger I grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and dragged him on the sidewalk.

"_I know you beat her!_" He screamed, "_I know you beat Hinamori-sama!_"

I threw him onto the curb. "You're on the road, now go away!"

"I don't think s-"

"If you aren't going to leave, I'm calling the cops!"

Hearing this, he scrambled onto his feet and darted off, shouting, "This isn't the last from me!"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I hated that kid, I really did.

With a sigh, I jumped onto Amu's balcony and walked back inside. She was sitting up, her eyes wide with curiosity and slight fear.

"Wh-wh-what w-w-w-was i-i-i-it?" she stuttered.

I didn't want to scare Amu any more than she already was. "Just a raccoon," I lied.

"B-but I-I h-heard sh-shouting."

"I was trying to scare it away."

She gave me a blank look, the kind that meant "tell me the truth".

"I-I d-didn't think w-we h-had raccoons around h-here," she said, "Wh-what w-was r-really down th-there?"

I shook my head and crawled back next to her, putting my arms around her. "It isn't anything you need to worry about."

"W-well if it's outside my house, I-I _think _I need to worry."

"It was an animal of some kind. It was nothing to worry about."

"Ikuto-koi, I-"

"Amu-koi, don't worry about it, okay? It's nothing."

"Do you think it's going to scare me even more or something?"

I bet my lip. She found me out! "No, it's just that it isn't anything to worry about."

"Ikuto-koi, it's not going to scare me more. I promise."

I sighed. "Alright, but if you _do _get scared, don't blame me."

"I won't"

"There was someone trying to sneak in."

She was silent for a moment, but then she said, "Wh-who?!"

"That stupid kid Tadase."

Her sunlit eyes darkened and her jaw dropped slightly. "…wh-what?"

"Yeah, Tadase was trying to sneak in."

She took in a deep, raspy breath and let it out slowly. She clutched the front of my shirt and buried her face into my chest, beginning to cry.

"I wish he would just leave me alone!" She whined, "I wish he would just go away!"

I took the opportunity to kiss the top of her head.

"Me, too," I said softly, "Me, too."

She started shaking in my arms. "H-how o-often do y-you th-think h-he c-comes?"

"I don't know, but I think it's best that we just not worry about it and come up with a way to keep you one-hundred percent safe."

"H-how, Ikuto-koi? How are we s-supposed to k-keep me c-completely safe?"

I thought for a minute. "I think…" I started and took in a deep breath, "I think it's best that I stay here as much as I can. Every night, if possible."

She looked up at me and sniffed. "You can't stay here _every _night!"

"I said I would if possible, right? Besides, I promised to protect you, and before that I promised that nothing bad would happen to you. I'm keeping those promises."

She shook her head and dug her face back into my chest, crying again. "B-b-but that's not the p-p-p-point!" She said. I hated having her cry like this, I hated having her scared out of her mind like this. If only there were some way I could calm her down… "The point is…"

Suddenly, I knew something I could do. I kissed her hand.

"…is…" she repeated.

I slowly kissed her up her arm despite the gauze and bandages.

"…i-is…"

I kissed the gauze around her neck and used my teeth to move it down slightly, tickling her in the process. I nibbled lightly on the skin I had just exposed.

"…uuuuuuuh…"

I licked her cheek very, very slowly and very, very gently.

She didn't respond and she stopped crying. That's what I wanted all along. I pulled my tongue back in my mouth and kissed her cheek lightly and quickly. She still didn't say anything.

"So, Amu-koi, are you still scared?"

She shook her head without saying a word.

"Do you still have any objections to me staying here every night?"

She shook her head again.

"Do you _want _me to stay here every night?"

She nodded.

I smirked and whispered in her ear, "You're really easy to seduce, you know."

She slapped my arm lightly, coming out of whatever trance she was in. "W-w-well m-m-maybe I-I-I w-w-w-wouldn't b-b-be i-i-if y-you w-w-weren't s-so d-damned s-sexy!"

I wrapped her hair around my fingers, twisting it gently. I didn't have to look at her face to tell she was blushing.

"I-Ikuto-koi," she whispered, "Could you stop that?"

"Why? Is it bothering you?"

"Yes! It's tickling my feet!"

Tickling her feet? "Amu-koi, I'm not anywhere _near_ your feet."

She backed away and tilted her head. "Well, if _you're _not doing it, then who is?"

We both looked down at the floor and gasped at what we saw.

* * *

Merlee: -sniffs- He meows really loud whenever I go outside T~T I wish I could climb up that tree and grab him T~T

Ikuto: o_ O That cat is _that _important to you?

Merlee: -stabs Ikuto with a fork- Yes T~T I thought _you _of all people would understand! Since you're a cat and all T~T and now I don't feel like making a long outro T~T

Ikuto: o _o that's unlike you.

Merlee: I know T~T R&R people! And keep Crooks in your prayers! T~T

Ikuto: o_ O Was that last part really necessary?

Merlee: -nods-


	11. Announcement

Hey, people! It's Merlee with some incredible news!

I'm scrapping Kept Promises and rewriting it! ^-^ I know, this is some bad news to some of you, but it isn't, really! I'm not happy with they way Kept Promises is going write now, so I'm going to rewrite it with a revised plot, still involving Tadase being pure evil, but made a lot more exciting than the current Kept Promises and Dangerously Sweet put together! I'll start posting soon ^-^ I'll post it after this note with chapter names and whatnot to avoid any confusion and/or failed searches, and also to avoid the erasing of my previous work. Below is a quick summary of the new Kept Promises.

Ikuto and Amu are back in Japan, together every waking moment. Tadase doesn't like this, and starts planning ways to get them to break up. Meanwhile, back in America, things are unsettled in French Lick. Neither the Advancers or the Sharks had sent all of their gang members out at the final gunfight, and the gang members who didn't attend seek revenge on Ikuto and Amu. Joined under one force called the Wexford Massacre, they leave for Japan in a journey to avenge Spike and Rudy. What happens when Tadase meets up with the Wexford Massacre? The story unfolds, and Ikuto and Amu find themselves in a place they could have never imagined.

As you all can see, I decided to spare Yaya and make her a single lady! (All the single ladies (all the single ladies) All the single ladies! (all the single ladies) Now put your hands up! Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh! (Yes, put a ring on it by Beyonce xD Totally random) And if you're wondering, the Sharks was the name of Rudy's gang. Also, Chapters One and Two won't be much different, but almost everything else will be. But yes, my new plot is totally epic O_O I wish I could tell all of it to you guys, but that'd ruin the story ^-^;

Please stay tuned ^-^ (Wo_oW…I sound like a commercial or something e.e.) And make sure you tell all of your friends about my new, awesome fanfic… plot… thing. It's the shizz O_O


	12. Announcement 2

Sorry about that last "announcement". my friend Keira decided that she'd play an april fools joke on me and hacked my account = _= she just told me about it TODAY, too. -_- she thought I'd figure it out on my own... but I couldn't because my internet was down =_=... damn it, Keira...

So! Sorry about that! T~T I am NOT scrapping Kept Promises. Keira was being.... bleeh. In fact, the next chapter SHOULD be up sometime soon. That is, if I get past this AWFUL writer's block. And if my dad doesn't take my laptop away because of some random shit and blah blah blah. So anyways, look foreword to the next chapter!

Oh, and just a note, I almost DID rewrite Kept Promises because I didn't really like the way it was going and shit, but I decided not to. But then Keira was all... bleh... but the summary was actually the summary for the new version of Kept Promises I was intending to write, so I decided that I'm going to go ahead and do that one too, and when this version of Kept Promises is done with, I'll start posting it after this story like you would a normal story. And since this version of Kept Promises only has a few chapters left... I think... God, I need to start planning this shit =_=..... oh, well.... but I do have the last few chapters written xD I wrote those fist so I wouldn't forget x'D

ALSO!!! I might be starting a new fanfic, but I don't know if I should -_ - it's not like my other fanfics at all, so I don't really know if it will bode well with people.... I think it might be told through Ikuto's POV, since that's pretty much all I write in anyway... but I don't know who I should be mean to D: Should I be mean to Amu or Ikuto?! I'm usually mean to Amu.... but making Ikuto the damsel in distress is WEIRD! Maybe I'll be mean to both of them.... IDEAS?! Keira isn't any help... since she wants me to be mean to Ikuto no matter what... just because they have the same last name..... OH WELL WHATEVER! I'll just be mean to both of them }:} muahahaha!

SO ANYWAYS! Now I'm rambling pointlessly! SO! Sorry for any and all confusion and random crazy shit like that (How many times do I say shit a day?! It's INSANE! Shit is my word! NOBODY CAN USE IT NOW!) SO ENJOY THE REST OF KEPT PROMISES!! DO IT NOW!!!


	13. Chapter 11

Merlee: -is in a corner, looking gloomy-

Ikuto: o. 0 What's wrong with you?

Merlee: -sniffs- T~T Crooks fell out of the tree and he's okay and all, but he's mad at me now!

Ikuto: Mad...?

Merlee: -nods- anytime I try to hold him he growls at me! T~T and I was nice enough to add him in this chapter!

Keira: -sneaks into Merlee's room, unnoticed.-

Ikuto: That's.... too bad.

Merlee: I think he's mad because my cat just had kittens and now he feels like he's been replaced T~T

Ikuto: Kittens?! You were nice and named one after me, right? :D?

Merlee: -glares at Ikuto- O~Q Why would I do that to my poor cat?! One Ikuto is enough already D:

Ikuto: That's mean =_=

Merlee: And besides, I only got to name two out of the three. .-. I named one Lolita and the other....

Ikuto: Lawliet?

Merlee: No, but I almost did xD I named him after another one of my fangirl obsessions!

Ikuto: So you did name it after me? :D?

Merlee: o- O I'm not a fangirl of you.... No! I named him... MELLO! Like from Death Note! :D

Keira: -sneaks up behind Ikuto, holding a knife to his throat- }:)

Ikuto: =_=; So are all of your fangirl addictions from Death Note?

Merlee: Pretty much, except I'm a Nekozawa fangirl. From Ouran High School Host Club. And Keira, put that knife down =_=

Keira: Aaaaaw! -throws knife on the floor-

Ikuto: -turns aroung and sees Keira- O.0 Merlee your crazy friend just tried to kill me!

Merlee: Well then you shouldn't have stolen her last name OwO And she's actually my cousin.

Keira: Yup.

Merlee: SO that technically means I'm related to _you_, since you stole her last name. =_=

Ikuto: I think _she's _the one who stole it!

Keira: why I outta..... -picks up knife again and chases after Ikuto like a crazed madman to try and stab em- }:)

Ikuto: O_O -squeels like a little girl or a pig or something and runs away-

Merlee: HEY! KEIRA! Don't do that, I still need Ikuto for the rest of the intro D: Go kill Light, okay? He stole your first name even though it's spelled differently!

Keira: Oooh yeah! -charges the other way to go kill Light- MUAHAHAHAH!

Merlee: e_e I can't believe I'm related to her.

Ikuto: Thanks, Merlee. -puts a tally mark on a chalkboard that says "Ikuto's fangirl count"- I now consider you a fangirl for saving my life 0.o

Merlee: wha-? HEY! WAIT A SECOND! -runs after Keira- NOOOOOO! DON'T KILL LIGHT! D: COME BACK AND KILL IKUTO INSTEAD!!!!

Ikuto: o- O but Light died at the end of Death Note anyway...

Merlee: So?! T~T KEEEEEEEIRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! COME BACK AND KILL IKUTO! D; He's annoying me!

Keira: MUAHAHAHAHA! LIGHT IS GOING TO DIEEEE!

Merlee: -_O I'll just tell her brother Ivan about it later....... he'll beat her up for it...

Ikuto: ... your family is weird. Including you.

Merlee: NUUU D; That's not nice!

Ikuto: Good.

Merlee: Well, whatever T~T This intro is too long. MIKI~!

Miki: o.o; Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters except for Crooks. She's--

Merlee: About ready to go chase after Keira and bribe her to kill Ikuto! :D! -runs after Keira-

Ikuto: Merlee, don't kill me!! -runs after Merlee-

Miki: -_-.... -sighs-

* * *

Ikuto's POV (No duh ._.)

"Awww!" she exclaimed as she bent down to pick up the cat at the foot of her bed. It was black with bright, pumpkin-orange eyes and a crooked tail. "He's so cute!"

"How did a _cat_ get into your house?" I asked, petting the cat's head.

"It must have followed you or something, since you act like a cat, too."

The cat squirmed out of Amu's arms and curled up at the foot of her bed, staring out of her balcony door for a moment before falling fast asleep. Amu snickered.

"He acts like you, Ikuto-koi," she said, I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"Are you going to keep him?"

She nodded. "Of course! Now, what should I call him?"

"Not Fluffy! Name him anything _but _Fluffy!"

"Why would I name him something like _that? _I think I'll name him…. Iku-tan! After you!"

_Where did she get THAT from? _I wondered. "Don't do that, either. That's just... weird."

"No it's not! It's cute!"

"It's creepy. Don't do it."

"_Fine._" She took another look at the sleeping cat. "How about Crooks since he has a crooked tail? And he sneaked in here, so he may as well be a crook."

I sighed. She had a point. "Crooks it is, then. It's better than Fluffy."

She giggled. "It is. Let's see if he responds to it. Crooks!"

When she called his name, the cat lifted his head and looked right at her.

"He's sure a quick learner," I said, "We have to give him something otherwise he won't respond when we call him." I reached into my pants pocket and pulled out my personal bag of crack. Well, it was actually catnip, but catnip is as addictive as crack. I took some out and tossed it to Crooks, who enjoyed it.

"You carry catnip around with you?" Amu asked skeptically, "Why…?"

I shrugged. "It's like crack. You can pretty much get high off it, but it doesn't hurt you like crack does."

"Uh, you_ do _know that only _cats _can get high off of catnip, right?"

"Well, apparently not. People get high off it, too." (A/N: Whoo! Right on, Ikuto! I totally agree with that! xD)

"Maybe you _are_ a cat," she giggled, "I knew that you acted like one, and that your would-be self is one, but I didn't think you actually _were_ one."

For a moment we both watched Crooks as he played with his catnip. "You know what this makes me think of?" Amu said, breaking the silence.

"What?"

She yawned widely. "It makes me think of…" her voice trailed off and her head fell on my shoulder. I waited for her to finish her statement.

But she snored instead.

_I thought she said she wouldn't fall asleep, _I thought with a smirk. I sat her head on her pillow and curled up next to her. _Oh well. She __**is **__sick, after all. I'll let her sleep. _I kissed the top of her head then looked back into her sleeping face.

"Goodnight, my love," I whispered softly. I closed my eyes to join Amu in her dreams when I felt her inch right next to me.

"…mmm… I love you so much, Ikuto-koi…" she said, her voice weak and slurred. She was obviously sleep talking. "…so warm… smell so good…"

My smirk widened as I stroked Amu's hair. "I love you too, Amu-koi. I love you, too." I whispered and fell asleep.

Meanwhile ~ Amu's POV

I felt warm for a moment, then cold for a moment and then warm again. The pattern repeated several times before I heard the crashing of ocean waves. I opened my eyes to look at an orange sky. I sat up quickly to my side to see an ocean at sunset. I looked down at myself to find myself wearing a dark blue bikini that I didn't recognize that matched the color of the necklace and bracelet Ikuto had given me. I was at a beach, all alone. There wasn't any laughter of young kids anywhere, and there weren't any seagulls in search of food. The only sound was the crashing of ocean waves. I was alone. Completely alone.

I stood up and twisted my head left-to-right for any sign of human life anywhere, and when I didn't see any, I called out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

I heard a familiar chuckle behind me. "Hello, Amu. Yes, I'm here."

I turned around and looked at a warmly-familiar smirk and even more familiar midnight-blue eyes. "Ikuto-koi!" I yelled, running up to him and grabbing him firmly around his neck. He acted completely surprised.

"Amu, What do you think you're doing? Why are you acting like this?" He asked in a worryingly shocked tone.

My heart sank. "B-because I love you so much, Ikuto-koi!" I said, "You're so warm, and you smell so good, and you're so sexy! _I love you_, that's why!"

"Don't let your boyfriend hear you say that about me."

I unwrapped my arms from around his neck, took a step back, and tilted my head at him. "Wh-what? _You're _my boyfriend. Are you saying that you don't want to hear me say 'I love you'?"

"I'm not your boyfriend, Amu. We're best friends, even though we don't get to talk much, since your boyfriend _hates _me."

"H-huh? Wh-what are you talking about? What's gotten into you? You _are _my boyfriend!"

"No, I'm not. Believe me, I wish I was, but-" His sentence was cut short as he fell onto the sandy ground below, face first, a red streak down his back.

Someone stabbed him.

"Ikuto-koi!" I screamed, kneeling beside him and turning him to face me again. His eyes were losing life quickly.

"I told you, Amu…" He managed to mutter before shutting his eyes forever.

"_No!_" I screamed, pounding my fist into his lifeless chest. "You can't die, Ikuto-koi! You _can't! There's something I need to tell you!_"

In the midst of my tears, I heard evil laughter from above me. I looked up to see Tadase holding a bloody knife, laughing hysterically.

He killed Ikuto.

"It looks like you two won't be having any late night affairs ever again," he said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me away from Ikuto's body. His touch sent thousands of volts of electricity through my body, and _not _in a good way. My throat clogged up as if someone had shoved a dozen paper wads down my throat, and my blood rushed to my head like someone was hanging me upside-down.

"That should teach you not to cheat on me ever again!" he yelled and shoved me against a nearby palm tree. I did the only thing I could do in a situation like that.

I screamed as loud as I could.

Ikuto's POV

Not even five minutes after I had fallen asleep, I was awakened by Amu screaming at the top of her lungs. She was sitting up straight, so I sat up next to her.

"Amu-koi, what's wrong?!" I asked her frantically, putting my hand on her back gently to comfort her. She responded to the gesture by wrapping her arms around me, clinging tightly to my shirt and sobbing as loud as she could have.

"Don't die, Ikuto-koi!" She screamed, pounding a fist into my chest. "You can't die, Ikuto-koi! You _can't!_"

"Why would I die?! Amu-koi, _what's wrong?!_"

No matter how much I tried to comfort her, she remained in hysterics; kicking and screaming, telling me not to die. She still didn't stop when her parents rushed up to her bedroom door, standing in the frame.

"What's wrong?! What happened?!" Her mom asked urgently.

I shook my head. "I don't know! She won't tell me!"

They rushed in and grabbed Amu under her arms despite several kicks, screams, and commands for me not to die, repeating herself like a broken record. When I darted out of Amu's room to follow her parents downstairs I felt a tiny hand wrap around my pinky.

"Kitty onii-chan," Amu's little sister said in a sweet but frightened voice, "Is onee-chan going to be otay?"

I looked down at Ami and did my best to smile sweetly at her, trying not to scare her more than she already was. She was just a little kid, after all. "Of course she's going to be okay, Ami. Your onee-chan is going to be just fine."

Ami nodded and let go of my pinky only to hold hers out instead. "Otay, but you haveta pwomise!"

I took the little girl's pinky in mine. "I _promise_ that your onee-chan will be okay."

We reached the bottom of the stair to find that Amu's parents had set her down on the couch and were trying in vain to get a response out of her that way. She was still throwing a fit, and she was grabbing the fabric of the couch as if her life depended on it.

Ami let go of my pinky and ran to her sister. I, on the other hand, turned my attention to the kitchen. I got Amu a glass of water and ran back into their living room, sitting next to Amu handing the glass of water to her even though she continued kicking and screaming.

"Amu-koi," I said, gently placing my hand on her shoulder. She looked at me, her kicks and screams reducing to mere sobs and whimpers. She looked at the glass in my hands.

"Drink it," I told her, putting the glass into her hand, "You'll feel a lot better."

With a confused look on her face, Amu gripped the glass with both hands and gulped it down in one drink. Almost immediately she stopped whimpering and came back to her senses. She sat the glass down at her other side and looked at me.

"Ikuto-koi," she said quietly, barely loud enough for me to hear. For a minute I wondered if I had imagined it, but then I was sure I hadn't when Amu's dad nearly started crying at the fact that she added "-koi" at the end of my name. "Ikuto-koi," she repeated, slightly louder, "You _are _my boyfriend, right?"

I nodded. "Of course I am, Amu-koi. Why do you need to ask something obvious like that?"

Without warning, she clung to my shirt and out the side of her face on my chest. "It _was_ just a dream, then. A terrible, awful, horrible dream."

She was upset over a dream where I wasn't her boyfriend? As flattered as I was, I couldn't help but find it slightly pathetic.

"Did you have a nightmare, Amu-chan?" Her mom asked, taking the empty glass of water.

She nodded.

"What was the nightmare about?"

Amu sobbed again and tightened her grip on my shirt. "I-I d-don't want to t-talk about it," she said through her soft tears.

Her mom sighed as she made her way to the kitchen, but stopped and looked at Amu's wrist, pointing to it.

"Where did that come from?" she asked, walking up to us and bending down to examine the sapphire bracelet I'd given Amu with her fingers.

"I-Ikuto-koi gave it to me," Amu said. Her mom just looked up at me, her eyes expressionless.

"Speaking of which," her dad said, "Why is Ikuto-kun here, anyway?"

"That's a good question," her mom said, standing up straight, "Why _are _you here, Ikuto-kun?"

I bit my lip while I tried to think of a crappy-but-believable lie so I wouldn't get either one of us in trouble. "I… uh…"

"H-he brought me back from the hospital, remember?" Amu said, saving my ass, "He was going to leave, but I didn't want him to, and I asked him if he could stay for a little while. He didn't want to, but I begged him into it. Then we both fell asleep."

_God damn it, Amu. You're so honest, _I thought, but at least her parents weren't throwing me out the door.

Yet.

"Well, he can't stay any longer," her dad said, "not only am I uncomfortable with a boy who loves Amu-chan as much as Ikuto-kun does, but I'm sure his parents are looking for him." Her dad was obviously talking to himself.

"B-but-" Amu started to protest.

"No buts, Amu-chan. My word is final."

With a sigh, I stood up from my place on the couch. "Amu-koi, your parents are right," I said.

She grabbed my hand and tried pulling me back. "No! Please don't go!" Even though she was yelling, her voice was weak, worried, scared, and tired. I sighed again. Didn't she know that I'd just sneak back into her room later?

Apparently she didn't. She stood in front of the door with her arms outstretched. "Please let him stay!" She yelled- more like whined, actually- to her parents, "Ikuto-koi won't do anything wrong!"

I restrained myself from smirking at her lie.

"Amu-chan-"

"You won't do anything wrong, will you, Ikuto-koi?"

"Uh… nope."

"See? He won't do anything wrong! Let him stay!"

"A-"

"_Please_, Mom? _Pleaaase?_"

"Amu-cha-"

"_Pleaaaaase?_"

"We can't let-"

"_Pleaaaaaaaase?_"

"Really, we-"

"_Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase?"_

Her mom sighed. "_Fine_. But _just _for tonight. I don't want you asking me again later, okay?" (A/N: I wish _my _mom would do that, damn it =_= She barely lets me have Keira over, although _that's _understandable.)

Amu nodded as she grabbed my hand, staying silent. I wondered why her dream freaked her out so much, and why she didn't want to talk about it.

Later, back in Amu's room, she was still extremely quiet. She looked distant and deep in thought, her normally bright eyes dull and unfocused while she stared at the floor of her room.

"Amu-koi, are you okay?" I asked her.

She looked at me, her face indifferent. "Oh… yeah, I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Was you nightmare _that _bad?"

She sighed. "It's not so much the nightmare as it is something I _said _in the nightmare. And… something else."

"Well then _what _else?"

She didn't say anything.

"Amu-koi, seriously."

"Well… there's something that I have to tell you… but I don't know if I should…"

_Oh God, oh God, oh GOD!_ I screamed mentally, but tried keeping my cool on the outside. "Well, tell me anyway. It can't be _that _bad."

She sighed. "Well, I tried to tell you before _Tadase _tried sneaking in, but…"

"Just tell me."

"Well, I'm pr-"

I waited for her to finish her statement when her mom came in, holding Crooks by the scruff on his neck.

"Okay, where did _this _guy come from?" she asked.

Time for a lie. "Oh, he's mine. My house is being remodeled, and Crooks needed a place to go, so I asked Amu-koi if she could take care of him for a while." Where did I get _that?_

"Oh, your house is being remodeled? Why didn't you say so earlier?" Whoa, her mom actually _bought _that?

"…uh…" Seriously, why _didn't _I think of that sooner?

"In that case, you can stay as long as you need to."

Really, why _hadn't_ I come up with that sooner?! (A/N: Because you're an idiot, Ikuto! Sheesh!)

"He can? Really?" Amu asked, grabbing my arm.

Her mom nodded. "That's what I said. He can stay until his house is remodeled."

I was speechless. Really, how many moms would let their daughter's boyfriend stay with them over a long period of time?

"Just remember," her mom went on, "I'm only doing this because I trust you. _Both _of you."

Once again, I tried hard not to smirk. "Thanks, Hinamori-san. You have no idea how grateful I am." She really didn't. Now I could make sure Amu was always safe without sneaking around like I normally did,

"I probably don't, but don't forget that I completely trust you with my daughter. Do one thing wrong and _all three of you _will need to find a new place to go."

I gulped. By all three she meant me, Crooks, and Amu. Sure, I could see why she'd want to throw out Crooks and I, but Amu too? Her own daughter? That was harsh.

"Well, good night, you two!" She said in a suddenly cheery voice and closed the door.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooookaaaay then.

"Well, I'm tired now! G'night!" Amu said hastily, laying down and pulling her blanket over her head.

"Not so fast. You still had something you needed to tell me. Remember?"

She sighed and sat up as I prepared my mind for the obvious, inevitable news.

"I really _did _want to surprise you, but…"

"Just get on with it."

"…I'm probably going to take all this gauze of tomorrow!"

My entire thought process came to an abrupt halt. "_That _was what you wanted to surprise me with? Seriously?"

"Well, uh, yeah."

For some reason, I found it hard to believe that she wanted to tell me that.

"That's not the only thing you needed to tell me, was it?"

She took in a deep breath and let it out in a slow manner. "Y-yeah. It's the o-only th-thing."

"You know I don't believe that."

"U-uh… I'll just tell you in the morning, o-okay?"

"No, Amu-koi. Tell me now."

"But I want to sleep."

"You can sleep after you tell me."

"_Alright_… but you have to promise you won't flip out."

"I won't"

She bit her lip and gulped. "I didn't want to tell you this yet, but…"

* * *

Merlee: BIGGEST CLIFFY IN HISTORY!

Ikuto: -_- You're soooooo dead....

Keira: -holds out knife- No, Ikuto, _you're _dead }:D

Ikuto: O_O -screams like a little girl again and scurries off-

Keira: }:] heheheheheh!

Merlee: OwO... Keira, you're starting to scare _me _now! D;

Keria: }:|D heeheheheheh!

Merlee: O_ o what's the deal with the mustache face...?

Ikuto: -sneaks back- Q~O Is it safe now?

Keira: =_=; I guess. -throws knife back onto the floor and walks away.-

Ivan: -grabs Keira's arm- Are you trying to kill people again?

Keira: O.O How the hell did _you _get here?!

Ikuto: O. o who is _that?  
_

Merlee: My cousin and Keira's older brother Ivan. :D He's awesome xD

Ikuto: I'm so glad to meet the _other _Tsukiyomi family =_=

Keira&Ivan: -twitch- _Other? _-both take out knives-

Merlee: Not you too, Ivan! D:

Keira&Ivan: }:D BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA! -chase after Ikuto with knives-

Ikuto: O_O Merlee. Help me!

Merlee: =_ =... -stab Keira and Ivan with forks- Leave the poor wannabe pervert-cat alone -_- I don't want there to be a murder in my fanfiction.

Keira&Ivan: =_ = -throw knives down and storm off-

Merlee: Ah, I love my family xD

Ikuto: I don't o.o

Merlee: O_O -stabs Ikuto with a fork- =_=

Ikuto: OUCH! What is it with you and your family trying to stab me?!

Merlee: -ignores- R&R, PEOPLE! Reviews make me happy :O!

Ikuto: =_ =.....


	14. Chapter 12

Merlee: Well, today was the last day of school... but it doesn't really feel like it...

Ikuto: O_ o you're acting weird today. Not hyper... ish.

Merlee: That's 'cause I'm tired. XD And it's finally summer break so I can sleep all I want~!

Ikuto:... wow.

Merlee: Ooooh I have an announcement! Kept Promises is coming to a close!

Everybody (including those epic people from Death Note XD): WHOO!

Merlee: that's not nice... Oh, well. Miki! Disclaimer!

Miki: Wow, no long intro?

Merlee No. Too tired.

Miki Uh... okay... Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or the characters. She's merely-

Merlee: zzzzzz -snores-

Miki: ... wow.

Ikuto: -snickers and draws on Merlee's face-

Merlee: -smacks Ikuto in sleep- Go away. Don't touch me while I'm sleeping, got it?

Ikuto: O_O -sneaks away, scared.-

* * *

_Recap_

"_Alright… but you have to promise you won't flip out."_

"_I won't"_

She bit her lip and gulped. "I didn't want to tell you this yet, but…"

Chapter 12

Ikuto's POV (Do I even have to put that anymore? xD?)

She paused, then she gripped both of my hands tightly. "I'm… uh…" she bit her lip again and whispered, "…pregnant."

Even though I'd prepared myself for it thousands of times and had expected her to say it for what seemed like ages now, I still found myself completely flabbergasted. (A/N: Do people even say that anymore?) I couldn't deny it anymore, nor could I hope that it wasn't true. Amu was _pregnant_, and for real, too. I wasn't dreaming, was I?

And for some reason, even though I'd made a list of things, I couldn't think of a single thing to say to her. I just sat there, staring at her, jaw wide open and looking like an idiot. What was I _supposed _to say? Was there anything I _could _say right then?

"Ikuto? Are you okay?"

I still couldn't think of anything to say, and I'm pretty sure Amu waved her hand in front of my face. Did she _really _say that?

"Seriously?" Was all I managed to say.

She nodded. "Y-yeah, I am…"

"But the doctor said you weren't…"

She nodded. "I know, I asked her not to tell you because _I_ wanted to be the one to tell you."

I just wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly, not saying anything.

"Thanks," I said, "Thanks for being the one to tell me."

Amu's POV (Next morning)

"You're _sure _you'll be okay, right?" Ikuto asked me when he walked me to school, "I don't want you getting sick in the middle of class _or _begging people for chocolate during lunch."

I nodded, not commenting on his obvious hints at my pregnancy. "I'll be fine. It's just school."

"Well, just wanted to make sure," he said and kissed the top of my head. "Oh, I won't be here when you come out, I have some stuff I need to do, alright?"

"It's fine. I have a guardians meeting today, anyway."

He nodded and hugged me tightly. "Don't let _anybody _punch you in the stomach or anywhere near it, okay?"

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "I get it, I get it. I love you, Ikuto."

He broke the embrace and kissed my lips gently and quickly, then gave me a smirk. "I love you, too," he said, and walked off. I just smiled and watched him go. Some things about him wouldn't change. I then turned to walk into the building when _Tadase _grabbed my shoulder, shooting me an awful glare.

"You know, Hinamori-san, I heard your nice little conversation with _Tsukiyomi Ikuto_ last night," he said sharply. Well, he wasn't making an attempt to hide the fact that he had been at my house anymore.

"Wh-what conversation?" I asked, playing stupid. I knew _exactly _what he was talking about.

"So, you're having his kid. What a way to show your love for him."

What was he getting at?

"So now I have a good way to _finally _get you away from him. Come with me now, or I'll tell your parents _and _the whole school. So, are you going to get thrown out into the cold with a baby on the way or come with me?"

He'd want to get me _thrown out? _I had to admit it was a pretty good idea. But it wasn't like Ikuto and I didn't have a place to go if that happened. We could always stay at _his _house. And it wasn't like the school wouldn't find out sooner or later.

"No," I said, trying to sound firm and confident.

Then, Tadase laughed. Not what you would normally think of as a laugh, but an evil laugh. Not just an evil laugh, either. It was an _insane _evil laugh, one that scared me more than anything. (A/N: The Kira laugh from Death Note! x] there's a link on my profile.)

"Then I guess I have no choice. Sweet dreams, Hinamori-sama." He held out his hand, and he held something in it. Immediately I felt an electric shock go through my body. I fell to the floor. _He tased me,_ I thought.

And, the moment before I passed out, what Yaya had said to me when she was poisoned made sense. It turned out to be more than just _Ye… e… ants… ooooooh… ot ... eh… ont… urry… _What she meant was

_Yes, he wants you, not me. Don't just run, __**hurry**__. _

I woke up to a tune that sounded like something that would play in a child's toy

_Ding Dang De Dong, Ding Ding De dong, Ding Ding Dang De Dong, Ding Ding De Dong…_

I slowly opened my eyes and realized that I was in an old warehouse of some sort, a collar around my neck with a chain attached, hooked onto a wall.

_Ding Dang De Dong, Click click, click click, Ding Ding De Dong, click click, click click, Ding Dang De Dong, click click, click click, Ding Ding de Dong. _(A/N: It's the ringtone from One Missed Call. If you don't know what it sounds like, there's a link on my profile)

The song paused for a moment, then started back up again. _What… is that?_ I thought. _Where… am I? _

I tugged at the collar around my neck and realized something else. My hands were chained, too. I was sitting down as well. I turned my head slightly and realized there was a tiny window just barely big enough for me to look out. The sky was dark as midnight, so it must have been really late.

_What… happened?_ I wondered as I tried to remember what happened. I remembered seeing Tadase extending his hand, and an electric shock. _Oh, that's right,_ I thought, _Tadase tased me… because I know he poisoned Yaya? No, because he wanted me… If he wanted me, then why did he lock me here?_

All of a sudden, I got scared. I didn't want to find out what was going to happen, but I had a feeling I'd find out anyway. And soon.

_I want Ikuto! _ I thought, and I suddenly remembered what he'd said.

"_Whenever you're scared, alone, or just want to see me, sing this song and I'll come running as fast as I can." _

_Will it really work? _I thought, _It's worth a shot._

Despite my fear and my instinctive feeling that I needed to be quiet, I sang the chorus of the song Ikuto had taught me.

"_I'm miles from where you are | I lay down on the cold ground | I, I pray that something picks me up | And sets me down in your warm arms."_

I waited, but Ikuto never came. I felt like I was going to cry. _Where is he? Shouldn't he-_

I didn't get to finish the thought. There was a loud sound from the other side of the huge room. It sounded like an empty paint can falling. I shut my eyes and wished that I could escape, but I couldn't. I heard footsteps over the weird song, and then they stopped. There was an evil chuckle somewhere in front of me.

"Hello, Hinamori-sama," I heard Tadase say, "You can't run away from me now."

Ikuto's POV

_Why didn't Amu come out of school earlier today?_ I wondered as I jumped up onto her balcony in a way that only a cat could. I could have used the front door, but I didn't really feel like it. _I know she had a guardians meeting, but those normally end quickly. _

I looked into her bedroom window, surprised by the lack of pink hair. _Maybe she has her head under her blankets, _I thought. I opened her door, thinking it would be locked, but it wasn't. _Huh. Amu normally leaves this door locked…_

I opened the door anyway and walked inside, "Amu, why didn't you-" I stopped my sentence right after taking a close look at her bed. There wasn't anyone in there, and I knew she wouldn't be anywhere in the house. She normally went to sleep at ten, and it was eleven now.

Worried, I turned and walk out of her door and jumped off of her balcony. _Damn it, Amu! Where the hell are you?_

I began my wild goose chase at her school. I checked the Royal Garden, and I peeked into all of the windows. _She isn't here,_ I thought and ran off. Next, I darted to the old amusement park I took her to. She wasn't there, either. I went to plenty of other places she could be, and she wasn't there at any of them.

_Fuck!_ I thought, _Think, Ikuto! If you were Amu, where the hell would you be?_

I sat down in the middle of the sidewalk and sighed. Maybe she was at her friend Rima's house? No, she would have told me if she were going to a friend's house, right? Maybe she…

I sat for a few minutes, just thinking of all the places Amu could be. I thought that maybe she could be seeing Yaya at the hospital, even if it were in the middle of the night. I was about to go look when I heard a girl singing to a violin somewhere in the distance in a sad, mournful voice.

_Damn it, I forgot to check the park!_ I thought, the violin reminding me of all the times when Amu had watched me play and sang along.

I darted into the park. It was darker in the park than anywhere else, but somehow the singing guided me to the spot I always played at. I was close enough to it to understand the lyrics.

_No sir, well I don't wanna be the blame, not anymore_

_It's your turn, so take a seat we're settling the final score_

_And why do we like to hurt, so much?_

_I can't decide_

_You have made it harder just to go on_

_And why, all the possibilities where I was wrong_

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_I drowned out all my sense with the sound of its beating_

_And that's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_I wonder, how am I supposed to feel when you're not here_

_Cause I burned every bridge I ever built when you were here_

_I still try holding onto silly things, I never learn_

_Oh why, all the possibilities I'm sure you've heard_

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_I drowned out all my sense with the sound of its beating_

_And that's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_Hey, make your way to me, to me_

_And I'll always be just so inviting_

_If I ever start to think straight_

_This heart will start a riot in me_

_Let's start, start, hey!_

_Why do we like to hurt so much?_

_Oh why do we like to hurt so much?_

_That's what you get when you let your heart win!_

_Whoa_

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_That's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_Now I can't trust myself with anything but this_

_And that's what you get when you let your heart win, whoa_

_(A/N: That's what you get by Paramore (Vitamin String Quartet Version). I don't own. Link can be found on my profile.)_

I followed the sound all the way to its source, which happened to be the spot where I normally played. In the moonlight, I couldn't believe what I saw. A girl with wispy hair, playing a blue violin. _It's __**that**__ girl,_ I thought, _Does she always show up when I need help or something? She might be useful right now._

"Yo! Merlumina-san!" I called. She stopped playing and looked over at me. She looked confused for a moment, then understanding.

"Ah. _You're_ that one… dude! Uh… Ikuto-san, was it?"

I nodded. "Yeah, but screw that right now! You're always giving me advice when I need it, right?"

She nodded and put the violin in her case. "Yeah, what do you need?"

"Amu's gone, and I have no idea where she is! I've looked everywhere, but I can't find her! Do you know where she is?"

She looked at me skeptically. "What makes you think I know where she is?" She paused, but not long enough for me to answer, "Wherever you got that idea was a good one, because I _do_ know."

"Then where is she?"

She sighed. "That wannabe princess, Tadase, took her to an old abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. There's a huge sign in front of it that reads 'Moonlit Melody Products'. If you take a taxi, you should get there. It's on the town map."

"But why would Tadase do something stupid and selfish like that? Isn't that the opposite of what he's about?"

She scoffed. "Did you _not _hear the song I was just playing? He let his heart win. Why else would I be playing that song?"

"Oooooooooooookaay, how the hell do you know that he let his heart win?"

"I wrote it. Not the song, the other thing."

"What other thing?"

"Huh? Oh! Nothing."

"You're so weird," I said and I started to walk away.

"Wait!" She said. I turned back around to see her digging through her giant purse with a picture of four guys that said _Coldplay_ on the front. She pulled out something rectangular-ish and handed it to me. "You left _these_ in a manhole at French Lick. I figured you might need them right now. They're loaded, so be careful."

I looked down at the rectangular-ish things in my hands. They were the guns I'd used back in America, the reason I was here right now, the reason all these things happened. I never expected to feel such a realization flow through me. If Amu and I hadn't gone through all that stuff in America, I wouldn't be back in Japan, and Amu and I wouldn't be together at all.

And Amu wouldn't be in some old warehouse.

"Thanks, Merlumina-san," I said, putting the guns into one of the inside pockets of my jacket.

"It's Merlee, actually. Call me Merlee," She said and pulled her violin out of her case again. She was about to play when she stopped. "You'd better get going. You don't know what Tadase might be doing to Amu."

I nodded and ran out of the park. _Hold on Amu,_ I thought, _I'm coming._

Amu's POV

"Hinamori-sama!" Tadase yelled at me, "Answer me, damn it!"

I shook my head. I didn't want to say anything to him. I didn't even dare open my eyes.

"_Hinamori-sama! Tell me why you have the gauze! Why are you with Tsukiyomi Ikuto if he beat you?_"

I didn't say anything.

"Fine, then! I guess that you'll just have to deal with _this_, then," he said. I heard his footsteps walk behind me, and the sound of him pulling something out of his pockets. He wrapped what he had pulled out, a cloth, around my eyes. It wasn't anything extreme.

"Since you refuse to open your eyes, you won't be able to see anything. If you refuse to tell me anything more, or if you refuse any of my other requests, it'll get worse. _Much_ worse," I heard the clicking of a cell phone. "I'll have a double advantage, too. I'll use _you_ to get something _I _want from the police."

My heart almost stopped. What would he want from the police? I heard him click a few numbers, then he spoke.

"Yes, it _is_ an emergency. _I_ have a hostage, and I'll only let her go if…"

* * *

Merlee: -snores-

Miki: ... I don't think she's going to wake up...

Ikuto: Hey, maybe it'll be quiet around here for once.

Merlee: -stabs Ikuto with a fork in sleep- Shut. Up.

Ikuto: OW! Does she sleep with a fork or something?

Merlee: -too lazy to write a long outro and ignores the wannabe pervert cat- R&R people!


	15. Chapter 13

Merlee: Well, I managed to wake up long enough to post this.

Ikuto: Wow, you're actually updating. I'm surprised.

Merlee: -stabs Ikuto with a fork- Shut. Up.

Ikuto: OW! What is the deal with you and forks? And why are you in such a bad mood?

Merlee: It's too early in the morning for me to be awake .-.

Ikuto: ... but it's like 10:00...

Merlee: My point. Too early. I usually wake up around 11. ANYWAY! Miki, disclaimer.

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or it's characters. She's merely an obsessed fan.

Merlee: ... =_= I actually let you say it this time. I surprise myself sometimes. And a note: there's a lot of swearing in this chapter. Consider yourself warned.

* * *

Ikuto's POV

I hopped out of the taxi, my adrenaline rushing. _That mother fucking bastard wannabe king has fucking idea how bad he's going to burn in fucking hell!_ (A/N: That was a lot of swearing x])I thought. I charged right up past the sign that Merlee had told me about.

The parking lot was filled with police cars, and that yellow tape that says "Police Line: Do Not Cross" surrounded the entire place. I charged up to it, attempting to cross it, but one of the cops grabbed my shoulder, prohibiting my pass.

"_Let me though, damn it!_" I yelled at him, "_I __**have**__ to get in there!"_

"I'm afraid you can't go in there," the cop said, "Someone is holding a girl hostage. We're sending in a SWAT team to-"

"_Fuck your goddamned SWAT team!_" I snapped, "_That girl is my girlfriend!_"

"Sir, it's too dangerous. We can't let you through."

"_Damn you!_" I yelled. "_Listen! I promised that girl that I'd protect her, and that nothing bad would happen to her, and I have to keep that promise!_"

"Let the police take care of it. The guy is completely crazy. He said if he gave us the girl we'd have to make him king if the world, and we need to be careful around psychopaths like that. We can't have inexperienced kids doing-"

I rolled up my sleeve and showed my bandaged arm to the cop. "_You say I'm inexperienced, you cunt wad? Where the hell do you think I got these from?"_

The cop sighed. "We can't let you through no matter what, okay?"

"_Fuck you!_"

Amu's POV

After being taken off of the walls and hung upside-down on my toes, having unknown things shoved down my throat, small volts of electricity being shot through my body, several whips in the back, aggravation at the child's song that played constantly over and over again, pins stuck through my body, and an uncountable number of slaps in my face with belts, I was about to give into Tadase and vow to never see Ikuto again. But I couldn't. Not after everything we'd done together, all the times we'd kissed, all the times we'd said "I love you", not after I carried his kid. I

"If a 'until death do us part' is what you want, then you might have it sooner than you think!" Tadase screamed in my ear. I let out a whimper and a sob, which resulted in a small voltage of electricity surging through my toes. I started letting out more sobs and more cries.

"You want you know _real_ pain?" Tadase said. I felt the cart I was suspended on move, and I heard a door slide shut and lock, and then I heard an explosion. It suddenly got really hot, and I could hear a crackling fire. _I knew he wanted to torture me, but now he wants to kill me?_ I thought with a whimper.

"Don't worry, Hinamori-sama," he said, "I'm not going to kill you. I'm just going to make everyone _think_ I did."

I sobbed. I would have yelled at him, but my throat was sore from all of the things he used to gag me. I felt myself being turned over, being suspended the way I was supposed to. My blindfold was pulled off and my gag was removed. I was taken off of the cart. I opened my eyes, but I still couldn't see. Tadase had locked us in a room with no lights or windows. _What the hell is he doing? _I thought.

I felt a sharp tug on my shoulder as a light came on, revealing a room full of moss and mildew and decay. And a winding staircase leading down. Tadase was pulling me down it. "They'll all think your dead! And they'll see what happens when they don't give me the dictator of the world! Or at least they'll _think_ they did!"

I whimpered. _Where is he taking me?_ I wondered.

I kept the song in my head, hoping Ikuto would come.

_I'm miles from where you are,_

_I lay down on the cold ground_

_I, I pray that something picks me up_

_And sets me down in your warm arms_

Ikuto's POV

I heard a loud explosion, and then I saw a fire start in a section of the building. I couldn't take it anymore. _He's going to kill her!_ I thought, _I'm not letting him get away with this, damn it!_

I lost all control, and something made me punch the cop who kept me from going through in the face. Faster than anyone could catch me, I sped past the caution tape surrounding the area. I started to dart into the building, but a voice made me stop for a second.

"Ikuto!" it said, "Keep your hand at the level of you eyes!"

I turned around and saw Merlumina standing there, out of breath, violin strapped to her back. _She ran here to tell me something like __**that?**__ What does that even mean? _

"I will," I told her, "Thanks, Merlee."

"No problem. Now _go!_" She pushed me into the building and ran off. I was left with no choice but to go into the building.

But the old warehouse has several rooms, and the fire had spread quickly.

_Where the hell am I supposed to go?_ I wondered, screaming at myself in my head, _She can be in any of these fucking rooms! I wish Merlee didn't leave, I could use her advice right now!_

I sighed. Out of instinct, I went into the first door. She obviously wasn't in there, considering it was an old broom closet. I went in anyway, and I pounded on all the walls. I hoped there would be a secret door somewhere, but there wasn't. _Fuck it!_ I thought, and darted out of the room.

The next door wasn't anymore luck than the first. It was a room filled with old electrical wires, some of which had looked like they'd been ripped out of the wall. Recently, too. I walked up to an old control panel. There were labeled buttons all over it.

I pressed the one that said _Storeroom_. When nothing happened, I pressed the one that said _Control room_. Nothing happened then, either. I pressed _Product room_, _ware room_, _PA system_, and _Cafeteria. _Nothing out of those happened. Out of frustration, I hit the control panel with my fist. I heard a loud sound like something sliding open. I looked at the control panel again. I had hit an unmarked button. I looked around the room for anything that could have made that sliding sound. I found nothing. With a sigh, I opened the door and walked out.

As soon as I walked out, I wished I hadn't. While I was pushing buttons, the fire had spread even more. It had engulfed almost all of the building. Fire was reaching off of the roof downward, climbing up the walls, crawling along the floor. I was ready to give up, and to leave the building, but I couldn't. I came for Amu, and I was going to _find_ her, no matter how many burns I got.

I looked around the giant room frantically, wondering which door to go in next. Then, I heard something like a child's song.

Ding Dang De Dong, Ding Ding De Dong, Ding Ding Dang De Dong, Ding Ding De Dong…

I turned around to the direction that the sound came from. There was an opened archway that wasn't there before, and the music had obviously come from it. And it looked as though the door was a sliding door. _That's what that was,_ I thought. I charged into the door, only to be greeted by more fire than there was outside of it.

But I kept going, because I still heard that song.

…_Ding Dang De Dong, Click click, click click, Ding Ding De Dong, click click, click click, Ding Dang De Dong, click click, click click, Ding Ding de Dong._

The room I was in was huge, and shelves were piled high with decaying things. It was a little creepy, especially with the fire, but I kept going. The song was taunting me, daring me to come closer.

_Ding Dang De Dong, Ding Ding De Dong, Ding Ding Dang De Dong, Ding Ding De Dong, Ding Dang De Dong, Click click, click click, Ding Ding De Dong, click click, click click, Ding Dang De Dong, click click, click click, Ding Ding de Dong. _

The song grew louder and louder as I went further into the room. I was in the corner of the room when it got unbearably loud. Next to my foot was a metal collar chained to the wall, shackles next to it, as if someone had tied someone else up. Tangled in one of the shackles was a sapphire necklace that I recognized, and next to that was a sapphire bracelet, which I also recognized. I picked it up, knowing they were the ones I'd given Amu. _Amu,_ I thought, _Amu was here, and she heard this song._

I looked down on the floor. Barely visible against the floor was an old, windup, porcelain doll that the weird child's song was coming from. It was dirty and decaying, but I picked it up anyway. The doll had an innocent face, one that should never have been near a place of a kidnapping. A kind of child-like innocence in a terrible place like this.

I turned around, looking for any signs of where Amu could be. In the wall, I noticed something that most people wouldn't notice. There was a small hole, barely big enough for my pinky finger. I dropped the doll and walked up to it. I stuck my pinky into the hole, and I heard another sliding sound. A door opened right beside me. I walked inside.

The room I walked into was small and narrow, mildew and mold covering almost every inch of the entire room, and there wasn't a single flame in it. There was a cart, the kind that you'd carry clothes and packages on in a hotel more posh than The West Baden. Beside it was an old piece of cloth that could have been used as a blindfold, and next to that was something that could have been used as a gag. Electric wires were strewn out everywhere. _Oh Amu, what did he do to you?_ I thought.

I took another look around the room. There was an old staircase as well, leading downward. _Amu,_ I thought, _Amu, I'm coming. _

I ran down the stairs as quick as I could. _Keep your hand at the level of your eyes! _ I thought as I descended. I lifted up my arm. _What the hell is this for?_ I thought. I kept it like that. Merlee usually knew what she was talking about, even if she _did _seem to be the type to ramble about, and I wouldn't pick now to doubt her.

"_Hinamori-sama, you're going to stay with me forever. Tsukiyomi Ikuto thinks you're dead, and the police think you're dead. Nobody is going to save you now_," I heard someone say. It was obviously Tadase.

"_I don't believe that!_" I heard Amu respond, "_Ikuto will come look for me, even if he thinks I'm dead!_ _I know he will! I sang the song, so I know he's coming! I wouldn't be surprised if he came bursting through that archway right now!_"

Something about hearing Amu's voice brought a determination into me. I charged down the steps as fast as I could, hand at the level of my eyes. I could hear a dripping sound as I got closer to the voices, a sound that reminded me of a moist cave.

I reached the bottom of the stairs. Amu and Tadase were on a small island in the middle of a large body of water, everything about it was cave-like. Tadase grabbed Amu's wrist and tried to pull her to the edge of the water.

"If you think he will, then why don't we experiment? I'll kill you, and I'll see if he comes." Tadase said. Amu screamed and tried to pull away.

"_Son of a mother fucking bitch!_" I yelled, "Let go of her _now_." I pulled a gun out of one of the pockets on the inside of my jacket and pointed it at him. (A/N: violent much?)

"Ikuto!" Amu yelled. Tadase let out a very evil laugh and threw Amu's arm down, causing her to crash down onto the cave-like floor. She screamed in pain, and I guessed she must have broken a bone.

"Isn't this interesting?" he said, picking up a rope off the ground, "What a nice ending to our story! But tell me, Tsukiyomi Ikuto, how do you plan to get here?" he threw a match down into the water, catching it on fire. "This water is mostly oil!"

Hesitantly, I looked around the cave-like room. For a moment, it looked like Tadase had won, but then I saw something most people wouldn't notice. There was a boat, and there was a path right next to the boat that I could navigate through. Without Tadase seeing me, I hoped into the boat and paddled to the spot where he stood. I hopped out and pointed my gun at him.

"_That's_ how, you little ingrate," I said.

He stared at me with an evil grin on his face. He pulled the string upward, and I noticed it was a noose. _Hand! Eyes! Now! _I thought. I just barely made it in time when Tadase pulled the noose around my neck and pulled it shut.

He scoffed. "Fine, we'll let Hinamori-sama decide your fate. Hinamori-sama, which do you want, your freedom, or for your boyfriend to live?"

* * *

Ikuto: ... that kind of reminds me of the Phantom of the Opera...

Merlee: It was kind of supposed to. Like I said before, Kept Promises is a musical.

Ikuto: ... you weren't kidding, were you?

Merlee: Nope. And now it's time for a random factoid: Kept Promises was originally inspired by Mall Cop, but as the story went on, it started to remind me of the Phantom or the Opera, so BAM, that's what happened.

Ikuto: ... by MALL COP? Really?

Merlee: Yup. Anyway, R&R.


	16. Chapter 14

Merlee: FINALLY~!

Ikuto: Finally what?

Merlee: This is the last chapter of Kept Promises! And I decided I won't rewrite it, I have other things I have to do.

Ikuto: Finally your done with this. It's been six months or something.

Merlee: I know, right? MIKI! Discalimer!

Miki: Merlee doesn't own Shugo Chara or it's characters. She's merely an obsesssed fan.

Ikuto: Whoa, you actually let her say it.

Merlee: Uh huh. -stabs Ikuto with a fork over 143923832 times-

Ikuto: OOOOW! What was _that _for?

Merlee: Ah, for old time's sake.

* * *

Amu's POV

I started to cry a little. I tried to stand up, but I couldn't. My left leg hurt like hell, so I sat back down. If I chose freedom, he'd kill Ikuto. If I chose for Ikuto to live, Tadase would keep me here. _No matter what, I can't be with Ikuto…? _I thought.

"Amu, your freedom is more important than me!" Ikuto yelled.

"Take your pick, Hinamori-sama!" Tadase shouted.

I let out a sob.

"Amu, take your freedom! Let him kill me!"

"You see, Hinamori-sama? He's practically begging for death. Give him what he wants!"

I started crying hysterically and uncontrollably. "Tadase," I said, "I once thought I loved you. But what you're doing now only reminds me that your inner character is something evil. So evil that I can't see your chara. Tell me, what happened to Kiseki?"

He stayed quiet for a moment. "He… disappeared after I poisoned Yaya…" he said.

"You've betrayed yourself, Tadase. But even if you did…"

I paused and looked at Ikuto. His eyes were filled with a pain I'd never seen, an anticipation in his eyes that made _me_ nervous. "… you win. Let Ikuto go. I'll stay here."

I saw Ikuto's eyes grow dark and his expression changed. "Amu… Amu, what are you doing? You'll be stuck down here forever!"

I looked down at the floor. "I know," I said, "But… I couldn't live if you were dead. And Ikuto, I know that I've told you that I love you, and that you told me you'd protect me, but… that's impossible now."

I looked back up. Tadase's eyes showed a flash of fiendish delight as he untied the knot from around Ikuto's neck. "I see," He said, walking toward me. He grabbed my wrist in an attempt to pull me up, "A sign of true love, letting your lover live while you suffer. Alas, our poor heroine will never be able to keep her promises, and will wither away into-"

He was cut off by a loud sound that was familiar to my ears, almost as sorrowful as the sound of Ikuto's violin, and almost as beautiful in a time like this. A gunshot.

Ikuto held his gun out at Tadase. Tadase collapsed. He wasn't dead. I could see him breathing.

Ikuto darted straight for me and wrapped his arms around me. "_Amu!_" He shouted, "Amu, are you okay? Did you break your leg?"

I nodded. "I-I think so. But I-I think that's all that happened." I buried my face into his chest. "I-I'm so glad that you came! H-he was g-going to k-kill me!"

Ikuto picked me up, one arm supporting my back and the other supporting my legs. He kissed me softly and quickly. That same emotional wave flowed between us, the feeling of a want, lust, ant love. A need that nobody or anything else could fulfill.

"Let's get out of here," he said, braking our kiss.

I nodded and put my head on his chest. I was glad to be back in his arms. He carried me over to the boat he'd used, sitting down and setting me right next to him. He wrapped him arm around my shoulder comfortably. I placed my head n his shoulder and I closed my eyes, and we sang together.

After I have traveled so far

_We'd set the fire to the third bar_

_We'd share each other like an island_

_Until exhausted, close our eyelids_

_And dreaming, pick up from_

_The last place we left off_

_Your soft skin is weeping_

_A joy you can't keep in_

_I'm miles from where you are,_

_I lay down on the cold ground_

_And I, I pray that something picks me up_

_And sets me down in your warm arms

* * *

_

_A month later or somewhere around that_

In, of course, Ikuto's point of view.

I walked into the Hinamori household on a Saturday night from work. That's right, work. I decided that if Amu were pregnant, I'd need to get a job. And since her parents had to find out about the kid sooner or later, Amu and I _both _decided that with the two possible outcomes- either Amu's parents would support their daughter or would throw us all out- we would definitely need the money.

And, yes, I was still staying at Amu's, even though the cops arrested Tadase for kidnapping and we probably didn't have any reason to worry. But, truth be told, it was nice to be able to spend every night with Amu.

And the job part wasn't so bad, either. I had a pretty cool job. I was hired to play the violin at some fancy, expensive, five-star restaurant in town. The pay was good, and I got to do something I loved. Not to mention that I got to eat there for thirty-percent off with anyone of my choice, so Amu and I had a new place to go for our dates.

Everything seemed to be going well in my eyes. Place to stay, my dream job, an amazing girlfriend, and a baby on the way. What more could I want?  
With a smirk, walked into the house and had the urge to hell _Honey, I'm home! _Or something of the sort, but I didn't. Amu _and _Ami both had "Ikuto radar" and knew the very second I was back. I went right ahead with taking off my shoes and hanging up the fancy tuxedo jacket that I had to wear at the restaurant and waited for hugs and kisses from Amu and shirt tugs from Ami.

But they didn't come.

I looked around the room and realized something. The house looked completely empty and quiet. The TV wasn't on and there wasn't anything cooking. _Weird, _I thought, _they aren't home. _

I looked around the room for a note of some kind, and I found one on the kitchen table.

_ Ikuto-kun, _

_We're taking Amu to the hospital to have the cast on her leg removed. We'll probably be back after you finish work. _

_ Midori Hinamori _

I sighed and flopped down on the couch. They could have at least waited for me to come back. I just shook my head and flopped down on the couch. They'd be home soon.

And not even two seconds after I'd done so, the door burst open. In came Amu, panting and out of breath completely, almost as if she had been running. She looked over at me, her eyes filled with tears and lip quivering.

"_Amu?_" I half-yelled, running over to her and catching her just as she started to fall. "_What's wrong? Where are your parents? And why are you running when your leg is-_"

"Ikuto…" she whispered, sounding close to a complete break down, "They found out."

Of course, she meant that her parents had found out that she was pregnant. "_How? And why aren't they here?_"

She let out a sob. "I-I jumped out of the car while we were still driving…"

"_Why? Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?" _

She nodded. "But I had to. I had to get home before they did."

And that's when her parents burst in, looking as angry as hell.

"_You!_" Her mom yelled, pointing at me, "_You got her pregnant, didn't you?_"

I nodded. "I'm not going to lie. Yes, actually, I did."

She glared at me. "_And you aren't going to apologize?_"

"For what."

"_For ruining her life!_"

"He didn't ruin my life," Amu said, still crying.

"_What do you mean? Yes he did, he got you pregnant, for God's sake!_"

Amu was going to shout in protest when her mom pointed behind her. "_Get. Out. Of. My. House. Both of you! __**NOW!**_"

No getting out of this one.

Amu started crying again and I sighed. "Amu," I whispered to her softly, trying to comfort her and leading her out the doorway, "We'll be okay. I promise."

Her mom slammed the door behind us. We walked down the street, walking as close together as we possibly could. Amu looked up at me with tearful eyes, but a small smile on her face. "You promise?"

I nodded and returned the smile. "I promise. And I always keep my promises."

* * *

_There's a lesson to be learned from this two-book series, one that is very important._

_Any ending, no matter what it is, can be a happy one. All you have to do is have faith.

* * *

_

Merlee: And so we're done with that! Now I can finally finish working on _Missing_. Please read that one, too! ^-^ I'm going to finish writing it before I post it, which shouldn't take much longer.

Ikuto: ... I don't think I like your ending.

Merlee: I DO :D It was phantom-of-the-opera-ish. Plus, you and Amu get to live together for the rest of forever. I'd figure you'd like that.

Ikuto: ... you could at least write an epilouge.

Merlee: HA. Don't think so.

Ikuto: meanie...

Merlee: SO~ Since this was the last chapter, EVERYONE review! :D

Ikuto: YEAH! WE COMMAND IT!

Merlee: Yeah~ Ikuto will love all of you forever :D

Ikuto: I never agreed to that!

Merlee: Too bad 'cause you're doing it anyway.

Ikuto: =_=

Merlee: NOW EVERYONE! JOIN ME IN THIS ONE!

Everyone: R&R! :D -stab Ikuto with a fork-

Ikuto: OW!


End file.
